Edwards is a protégé of Jon Jones'. I probably watched his last fight in October of last year, but I can't remember anything about it.

Soren Bak's name stands out on the prelim section. His last fight was dull, but he's clearly got some talent. 

Moldavsky because is probably my least favourite fighter out of the Team Fedor camp. His fights have done nothing for me thus far. His last fight with Nelson was especially dull. 

Weichel/Diggs and Carmouche/Watanbe are okay additions to the main card. 

Still, I can't say I am amped for this one. 

50 minutes ago, Dai said:

It all boils down to this statement to me, and if you agree with it or not:

"Jones' resume has big names, but none of his opponents have had even the closest inkling of awareness that Sterling's opponents have had. None of them actively exploited his weakness".

Do I agree with that statement entirely? No, it's too hyperbolic. I do believe that the 135lbs division is superior to the 205lbs division though, which has been weak for a good few years now. 

I also don't necessarily agree with the 5 names he picked as Jones's best opponents. For example, I don't think Glover is better than the 2011 version of Shogun or Machida. 

50 minutes ago, Dai said:

Are we talking about Jones now, or Jones overall? Saying Sterling is a better fighter than Jones implies to me that he means taking everything into consideration, and not just the current versions. If its the current version of Jones, then comparing this version of Jones, who has had ten years worth of championship fights under his belt, is a bit silly and pointless. I dont think theres anyone who thinks Jones now is the best version of him. 

Why is it pointless and silly when many still believe that Jones is still the best fighter in the world? As examples, the UFC and Sherdog still have ranked number 1 P4P, despite him not looking particularly impressive in recent years. 

Based on their full careers, Jones is the better and greater fighter. He used to fight very differently and has achieved a lot more. 

7 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

Dillashaw was the man at 135 for a while. The man who ended the reign of Renan Barao. People forget now, such was the plummet of Barao’s career, but he was being talked about as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the game around 2012-14. He was scary. Yet in two fights, over the span of about 7 and a half rounds, Dillashaw completely wrecked him and Barao never recovered from it. Dillashaw was the new King and Barao slid down the card and into obscurity at such an alarming rate that it’s almost as if he was never there.

Correct. It was a major upset when he beat Barao - https://www.bestfightodds.com/events/ufc-173-barao-vs-dillashaw-786

I'd actually forgotten about Barao myself until your post. 

Can't wait for Lomachenko's fight this weekend:

I don't get the same hard-on over him that a lot of boxing fans do, but he's one hell of a boxer. 

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

I'll bet Inoue's already being compared in Japan to the main character from the popular manga Hajime no Ippo - a smaller, lighter weight in-fighter knockout artist who specialises in liver punches. 

As a kid, I loved the video game based on the Ippo series. 

Apparently he's not as big in Japan as this dude was - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joichiro_Tatsuyoshi#Professional_boxing_record

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

Completely unsurprising - you don't change a lifetime of being a shitbag just because you got caught and went to jail for shorter than most rapists.

That writer seems a bit of a dick, though - that bit about Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier turning over a new leaf and saying "No boxing for us, no ripping off people any more" is a really snide dig, not to mention seems misogynistic as well.

I really like Thomas Hauser's articles/books. 

Not sure what his issue was with Laila Ali. I would have thought he would have been supportive given that he was Ali's biographer.

8 minutes ago, Dai said:

'Plodding foward' somehow allowed DC to beat everyone in his path apart from Jones and Stipe. Guys like Gusty and Glover have somehow managed to get good records by plodding foward in straight lines as well.

The narrator didn't apply that point to Gusty. In fact, he said that Gusty gave Jones trouble in the first bout by doing the opposite. 

11 minutes ago, Dai said:

Sterling was on a way to a loss in his last fight, which must make Yan the greatest of all time according to this guy.

The current version of Yan perhaps is one of the best fighter MMA has seen to date. 

He looked like a monster against Sterling. 

14 minutes ago, Dai said:

Doesnt look favourable against the murderers row of talent that Jones has fought recently or in the past either.

Eh? 

Santos and Smith didn't crack the top 10 at Middleweight before they moved up. Santos has also lost twice since running Jones close.

Reyes has since been stopped by Jiri and Jan. 

Gusty lost his last two fights to an old Werdum and Smith. 

I first watched this video last year and forgot to share it. 

The title may seem a tad odd at first, but it really highlights how overrated Jones has been in recent years, how DC was tailor-made for him, and how the 135lbs division is vastly more advanced than the 205lbs division. The narrator could have also mentioned the decline of the Jackson Wink gym, but otherwise it's a superb video in my opinion. I've personally believed for a while that Jones, Gusty, DC, etc' ability do not match their reputations. 

If you can't be arsed watching it, the narrator's main points about Jones are:

- He panics when under fire from his opponents. 

- He doesn't throw punches in combos. 

- He struggles with kickers.

- His game works best against fighters who follow him by plodding forward in a straight line and allow him to land his linear kicks/circle out (DC, Glover, etc). 

Wrong thread.

Anyway, here is a brief article detailing what a wanker Mike Tyson was in the early 2000s - https://www.secondsout.com/columns/thomas-hauser/the-new-mike-tyson

28 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

The constant Pacquiao comparisons were getting a bit much throughout the night but I can see why they get made.

Aye, Sky and Top Rank were pushing that narrative throughout the week. 

Too many differences between them imo. For example, since when was Pacquiao a monster body-punching? 

This dude is too bloody good:

Oh, and as much as I give him shit, I am more than pleased that Anderson Silva won. Chavez Jr is a bit of a tit. 

I really like Chavez Sr, but I can't be arsed watching that tripe. 

For me, this weekend is all about Inoue.

When you have followed boxing and MMA for the better half of your life, it's very easy to become jaded with both. I therefore try and limit my combat sports viewing to two card per week so that I don't get sick of either. 

Sometimes I have to make an exception. For example, last weekend there was a major UFC show, a Bellator card headlined by a fighter that I fancy the arse off, a Matchroom card on Sky, a Top Rank card also on Sky, and a Rizin show. I ended up watching all of them all, with the exception of the Rizin card and the prelims of the the UFC show. 

The schedule is usually that bloated that the likes of the PFL, ACA, One, Queensberry Promotions, etc never get a look in sadly. Either they clash with other combat shows happening, or I want to have a weekend off from watching half-naked men and women fighting one another. 

All in all, I probably spend more time on combat sports than ever. In addition to my viewing habits, I post on this forum as much as ever, read more articles/analysis than I used to, watch more instructional videos than ever, etc. It's hard to say if I enjoy combat sports as much these days, but I obviously still must get something out of it if I am prepared to spend so much time on it. 

I'm going to make my prediction early. I think Poirier wins for these three reasons:

1) Poirier is in his prime and competing in the right weight class. He is more durable and better defensively at lightweight than he was at featherweight. By comparison, McGregor is probably out of his prime and not the force he was at 145lbs. He has lost some of his punching power at lightweight, and has probably also lost some speed and durability due to not living the life in recent years. 

2) As this excellent article establishes, Poirier's defensive improvement in recent years has enabled him to better defend McGregor rear left hand, and also highlighted that McGregor has difficulty landing it against fellow southpaws - https://www.thefight-site.com/home/poirier-mcgregor-2-breakdown

3) ATT is a much better camp than SBG. Poirier will have access to better coaching and sparring. It is therefore probable that Poirier will turn up on fight night better prepared and with a better gameplan. 

I wouldn't completely rule out McGregor landing something big early and springing what I would consider to be an upset. However, I think the most likely outcome is that Poirier wears McGregor down and stops him around the 3rd round. 

Herman is indeed the fighter with the longest uninterrupted tenure on the current UFC roster. He'll break Sanchez's record if he remains on the UFC roster for another year or so. 

Here's is an interesting article about Herman's split from Team Quest in 2010 - https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/8/25/1650247/bloody-elbow-exclusive-team-quest

This dude is the best interview in boxing. IFL should track him down. 

It's also nice to know there is someone in the world who rates Mayweather lower than I do. 

I like it when some of the best fighters in the world compete outside of the UFC. However, watching Figgy and Moreno fight last weekend made me wish that Kyoji was still in the UFC. I think he'd have no problem beating either Figgy or Moreno. 

Hopefully, he'll fight Pettis in Bellator soon. Another fight that I think he'd win. 

22 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

The Timothy Johnson World Title fight not floating your boat Jim?

Not really. 

Tim Johnson is fine, but he isn't a fighter that I am going to get excited about watching. I support Moldavsky, but only because he's from Team Fedor. His bouts have been dull as fuck in Bellator. 

The July 31st card can't come soon enough.

Bellator's next two cards look utter pish so far. 

4 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

very true, you cant believe a word the man says.

Aye:

Stots vs Magomedov is an excellent co-main event too. 

6 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Patricky Pitbull has moved to #1 in the rankings despite losing his last fight to #5 ranked Peter Queally.

Goiti Yamauchi is at #3 despite losing his last fight to #10 Dan Moret.

Explain those.

Yamauchi was robbed by the judges against Moret, whereas Pitbull Snr was bossing Queally until he got stopped via a cut. 

I assume those who contribute to the rankings system took those details into account. Still, the rankings are indeed a bit of a mess. 

Official MMA rankings tend to be a bit shit. Jon Jones is still ranked P4P number 1 by the UFC ffs. 

WBSS is back. Women's Super Featherweight this time round:

Against all rational thought, I have this horrible feeling that Wilder is going to win. 

Fight of the Year imo.