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

[spiderjericho]

Vince is prolific.

Just watched the card.

Al Jo had some crisp striking. There was hardly any grappling on his end.

Grasso pieced up Karoline Bae.

Suarez reminds me of the female Safeway select version of Khabib. If Nina had picked it up in the second, she would have won. Andrade is probably going to expose Suarez.

People body shaming Andy Ruiz but letting those HWs get the pass.

That shot by Tony was regrettable. His pressure, jab and unorthodox movements make him a threat. He DOES absorb a lot of strikes.

Valentina left Jessica Eye slept in the Octagon. That kick was bad. Women’s MMA probably got another 5-7 years to grow and mature. But Valentina, Amanda, Rose and JJ are the best right now.

Henry has heart. Marlon was tearing up his leg. Doesn’t help if his ankle was jacked up. He made some serious adjustments and brought the pressure in round two and three.

He’s in a tough position. I’d like to see him fight Benidez (sp) or Al Jo. He should drop the FW title now. There’s no way he can fight 3-4 a year and keep the UFC/ESPN main event coffers happy.

 

[QU!K]

Too many champ champs, taking the allure away

 

[thehealthinspector]

that just means we need a champ champ champ

 

[blackcease]

The amount of "champ champs" popping up is interesting when you think about the weight cutting issue in MMA though. On top of the guys like Whittaker, Gastelum, Poirier etc. who moved up and started crushing dudes at a higher weight.

Maybe people wouldn't be giving up as much as they seem to think by fighting at their more natural weights.

 

[dman14]

did the payouts get released
didn't watch the card but lot the results/pics seems like some of these fighters took years off their life
yikes

 

[130122]

did the payouts get released
didn't watch the card but lot the results/pics seems like some of these fighters took years off their life
yikes

Eye literally took a louisville slugger to the temple. i thought she was dead for a hot second

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

did the payouts get released
didn't watch the card but lot the results/pics seems like some of these fighters took years off their life
yikes

Yup, the more I think about MMA and the fighters currently, I will always take into account the wars they've been through

Henry for instance, the man took a vicious beating. It will be tough if he loses to say AlJo, in terms of how to judge legacies and what not. The Henry that fought Marlon would not lose to many BW's ever imo

Same goes with the Dustin who fought Max. That Dustin beats historically good LW's outside of say Khabib imo

All a matter of perspective, but that's mine

 

[spiderjericho]

Jessica Eye looked like she had a bad weight cut. That was then followed by that Russian rocket to the head.

Valentina is MMA’s Black Widow. She dances, expert marksman, former kick boxing champion and now MMA champion.

Those wars are the exact reason why they should have fighters insurance, the PI institute and the nutritionists.

Tony takes a lot of hits to his head. Could be a valid why he had that recent episode at home.

UFC basic contracts should be at least $30K per fight.

 

[Beans]

What’s shameful is on a night we’re Henry should have just basked in his glory he used his time on the mic to ask for more money. This is getting old, UFC has to take better care of these dudes

 

[BobbyLite]

Dana outright saying there's no way Waterson gets the next title shot since she's ranked too low. That caught me off guard, I figured she had a good chance to skip Suarez

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

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

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

They've been pushing the hell out of her for other reasons outside of her resume. Sending her all over to promote herself and featuring her on ESPN. She definitely doesn't deserve a shot over Suarez but it seemed like they were grooming her to become that marketable "mom" contender among other things

 

[BobbyLite]

A future trilogy fight w cejudo and DJ down the road would be cool to see. Before DJ retires bring him back to UFC. Around same time Dillashaw should be coming back. Wonder what landscape of both division will look like then. And honestly can’t help but think of a Cejudo/Holloway matchup at 145

Can see a Ferguson/ Conor match coming up. Two years with no ufc fights...u have to pull Conor from the rankings at some point. Still waiting to see who Gaethje will fight next too.

 

[shogun]

that just means we need a champ champ champ

I don’t doubt nunes could knock out a few guys.

 

[xbiker47]

A future trilogy fight w cejudo and DJ down the road would be cool to see. Before DJ retires bring him back to UFC. Around same time Dillashaw should be coming back. Wonder what landscape of both division will look like then. And honestly can’t help but think of a Cejudo/Holloway matchup at 145

Can see a Ferguson/ Conor match coming up. Two years with no ufc fights...u have to pull Conor from the rankings at some point. Still waiting to see who Gaethje will fight next too.

Would love to see the build up to a Ferguson and Conor match up

 

[spiderjericho]

I wouldn’t. Conor would insult the dudes mental health. The fact Tony was #2 at his last management company. Tony never shows up for fights, he’s frail.

With Porier/Khabib in September, they might as well do a Cowboy/Ferguson rematch.

Conor is not coming back.

 

[xbiker47]

Conor will be back for Khabib, he has made that pretty clear.

Dana's mouth will be watering at the numbers that fight could do

 

[spiderjericho]

Yawn. UFC is not a sport. The outcome will be no different. But got it. Hopefully more than 1.5 PPV buys. Or will it? Be interested to see the buys for 238.

He’s got no reason to fight with his revenue streams and Mayweather check but I don’t think he could beat LI, Justin, Tony, Porier and Khabib.

 

[BobbyLite]

I wouldn’t. Conor would insult the dudes mental health. The fact Tony was #2 at his last management company. Tony never shows up for fights, he’s frail.

With Porier/Khabib in September, they might as well do a Cowboy/Ferguson rematch.

Conor is not coming back.

I see no reason for rematch. Tony was just getting warmed up. Don’t see anything diff unless cowboy got him early w something.

Just don’t see Ferguson waiting that long. We already know after the Poirier fight khabib won’t want to fight til April. A Poirier KO would shake everything up.

 

[spiderjericho]

So what’s a Ferguson to do? LW is literally long jammed right now, especially with the specter of Conor.

In the last few years, Khabib has only fought in Feb and Sept/Oct.

Gaethje, Cowboy, LI and Ferguson supposed to not fight?

 

[thehealthinspector]

gaethje vs tony needs to happen on the september card

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

The only thing is, Ferguson fighting again has zero upside. I understood why the Cowboy fight happened, he couldn't not fight a single time in 2019. I think he needed to at least fight once and the division had to move on without him (enter Dustin)

Gaejthe was always fighting a losing battle. He's the guy who's most screwed. Other than that, Ferguson should wait it out and see how the chips fall. An injury could occur

Cowboy, Iaquinta, Barboza etc. all took L's so it is what it is

 

[champcruthik]

I don't feel any sympathy for Gaethje. Gaethje knew what he was getting into when he signed from WSOF. UFC's 155 division consistently been one of the deepest in the organization for almost a decade now. His style, while aesthetically pleasing to casuals, got him knocked out by "Diamond" and Eddie. Finishing Vick and Barboza doesn't come close to jumping Poirier or Ferguson. My man "Diamond" hasn't lost since the fall of 2016 to MJ. Five victories in a row against stiff competition and an unfortunate NC vs. Alvarez, who Poirier appeared to be beating in the first bout. Ironically, Michael Johnson was the last person to defeat "El Cucuy" too. That was seven years ago. 12 Ws consecutively, including an astounding nine finishes. "Diamond" understandably jumped Tony because he was going through personal stuff and Ferguson vs. Khabib feels like a cursed matchup with the amount of times it's already been canceled.

Tony's new management, the Ballengee Group, should wisely advise him to hold out for the winner of Khabib/Poirier. Tony takes tons of damage with his relentless forward pressure. Unfair or not, Gaethje will just have to take another fight and keep winning the way Ferguson did.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

It's not so much that Gaethje deserves a title shot or anything, it's just that in the moment he can't get a fight with Conor or Ferg or anyone that would vault him up there. So I do feel for him in that sense

 

[thehealthinspector]

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

 

[champcruthik]

Man, that's what I get for doubting Henry Cejudo. He's definitely cringeworthy and forced on the mic but personality aside, he's a killer and champion in the Octagon. Marlon came out the way I expected. Hammer the leg kicks and wear down Cejudo. Henry was tough as hell to walk through the damage he was taking in the bottom half in R1. Fight IQ off the charts, his corner intelligently realized they had to throw out the pre-fight strategy and completely switch up the game plan. Cejudo came out in R2 and hit Moraes with the Max Holloway blitz. Constant forward pressure. Two bad things I noticed from Marlon. One, he didn't even show elementary defense in the Thai clinch. Henry was landing unblocked knees at will, seven or eight times in repeated succession. Secondly, Moraes's cardio was worse than I thought. Even if the knees didn't hurt or put out Marlon, getting backed up killed his gas tank. He looked spent by the end of R2. Some might say early stoppage at the end of R3 but Marlon wasn't intelligently defending. Cejudo was landing vicious elbows with his top game.

With all the props fairly given, I'm a believer in "Aljo" to quickly dethrone Cejudo. The striking in his last two wins vs. Jimmie and Munhoz has looked awesome. Longo/Serra really retooled Sterling's game. He may lack conventional power but his punches in particular come from such awkward angles. Shots you don't see sparring with conventional training partners. His kicks accumulate damage and points. Obviously "Aljo's" base is wrestling and grappling, so there's little concern there. Sterling can take Marlon's R1 strategy to chop Henry down with leg kicks and he showed an ability to deal with Munhoz's forward pressure fairly well and comfortably. Pedro has more power than Henry at 135 to boot.