Jump to content

UFC 223 is McFucked


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?   

22 members have voted

You do not have permission to vote in this poll, or see the poll results. Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 593
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Paid Members

@wandshogun09 and @David - in my defence, I didn't think it was particularly likely, merely that he had a chance. Yes, he's a lot smaller, but as I mentioned, wrestling seems to really favour shorter guys in a size war, and he's displayed some prodigious talent with it. Normally I wouldn't entertain the idea, but the dominance he seems to display makes me think it wouldn't be completely out of the realms of possibility.

Re-set my MMA fan status back to n00b please, mods.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
5 hours ago, OzExile said:

Is everyone counting Tony out then? I'm keeping my money in my pocket. Actually - I may have a small flutter on Tony submitting him.  

Not at all. I think Tony has enough weapons to get the win. I don't know if people are always underrating Tony's abilities, or they're just so in awe of Khabib that they can't help but feel he batters The Avengers all alone - maybe a bit of both.

Khabib is a force, but so is Tony. Tony is also a far more well-rounded fighter and durable AF. With Khabib you know he's going to march you down towards the cage and throw you on your arse when he gets you against the cage. I'm interested to see if Tony can find a way to negate that, because if Tony can make this a stand up fight, then you fancy he's got a real good chance. Although, I think Khabib's boxing is a little underrated, his lack of giving a care about getting hit may be his downfall, particularly if it ends up being a decent stand up contest. Ferguson gets hit, of course, but he's a freak and has one of those Big Country chins.

There is also that beautiful unknown in how Tony's incredible jiu jitsu adapts to the Khabib bear attack. In the same way Tony has never fought someone like Khabib on the ground, has Khabib ever fought with someone with a submission game as undeniable as Tony's? Every time Khabib throws Tony on his arse there is always the chance of Khabib getting sloppy or tired, leaving an opening for the durable one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

I always thought Frankie Edgar had maybe the best shot at being the first 3 weight champ. He already got the lightweight belt, was always right in the mix for the featherweight belt and there was always talk he could make 135 and on a good day I could see him beating whoever the bantamweight champ is. The Ortega loss has most likely fucked it off for good now though :( 

If MMA was structured like boxing - where there are several versions of the world title - Edgar would have easily become a 3-weight world champion. His job was done at lightweight. He was the best lightweight in the world when he moved down to 145lbs. If the judges hadn't been asleep during his rematch against Bendo, he would have reigned at lightweight for a lot longer. 

At featherweight, he had the measure of everyone in the division for a long while - except Jose Aldo. Given that Aldo held the only version of the featherweight title available, Edgar was fucked. Had there been 2 or versions of the featherweight title, he would have easily won one of them. At bantamweight, the likes of Cruz, Barao, and T.J would have all given him a run for his money. But he would have beaten at least one of them - if not all of them. Again, if the titles were broken up, instead of undisputed, then Edgar would have likely won a portion of the bantamweight belt. 

Part of the game I guess. 

16 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Tony's willingness to try things from his back could make it interesting but it could lead to him getting absolutely battered, Khabib kills guys who shell up and try and survive. Against a guy who opens himself up he could be even more devastating.

Aye.

Even if Tony is a demon off his back, he could still be swallowed up by Khabib. Barboza didn't do much wrong against Khabib. He was defending correctly before his coaches had the chance to yell out instructions. Yet he was still dominated. 

Ferguson is indeed the more well-rounded fighter. His game is more multi-faceted than Khabib's. But Khabib's game could prove to be much more effective, even if it is limited in comparison. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The way I see it, the lightweight division has its fair share of good strikers, and good BJJ guys, but it has absolutely no one like Khabib. I think that fighters talk a good game before they fight him, then after a round or so they think "what the fuck is actually going on here? How is this guy doing this?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

True, there is only one Khabib doing Khabib smashy things, but how many fighters are as good as Tony Ferguson? Not many at all, certainly not with the arsenal of weapons he's got, both physical and technical. As discussed, I think a key factor is if Tony can do anything at all to stop Khabib charging forward to get his back against the fence. Khabib likes to bully his way through his opponents offence, which leaves so many openings. Of course, after a round Khabib has usually done enough damage that his opponent is just hanging on, but Ferguson is a different type of tough.

It's why I think Conor has a better chance than most against Khabib. Conor is such a precise striker with the ability to knock anyone on their arse, and Khabib will give him an opening, even if Khabib reckons he'll suddenly be Stipe v Ngannou against Conor.

Plus, Tony has submitted 5 of his last 7 opponents. Again, how many blokes has Khabib faced that can do that to top fighters?

If I was to pick, I'd go with Khabib too, but I think there are a lot of possibilities. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In the modern era of MMA I'd rank two fighters up there as possibly the biggest problems for opponents to solve. Khabib and Ben Askren.

There are many good fighters with terrific skill sets, but the one constant in MMA is that if you have the ability to get someone to the floor and dominate them there you're going to see a lot of success.

Askren and Khabib personify that for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

I didn't see the One FC fight, but I heard Askren had some real problems with Santos, and looked very beatable to the judges? 

He may "look" beatable, but thus far he hasn't been.

5 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said:

Askren needs to get his arse to the UFC and fight the best in his division before he gets that sort of buzz, David. Very good fighter, but Khabib has been smashing some of the world's best for years in the UFC.

Come on Colin, you should know as well as anyone that the dude has been campaigning for a UFC run for almost five years now.

He left Bellator as their undefeated welterweight champion with 4 title defences under his belt, competed at the 2008 Olympics, won Gold at the Pan-American championships and was an NCAA Div 1 standout.

Dana claimed that, despite all of that, he should go to somewhere like WSOF and prove himself before the UFC think about handing him a contract :laugh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like Askren. 

Koreshkov and Lima are two impressive notches on Askren's resume. That becomes clear when you look at their resumes outside of their losses to Askren. I have no doubt that Askren could make a serious impression in the UFC, but he needs to actually do it before he can be discussed amongst the sport's reference points. 

21 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said:

but how many fighters are as good as Tony Ferguson?

2-4 tops in the current game. There's Max, Mouse and maybe Woodley who you can argue are as good as him. Miocic has also done a sterling job at heavyweight. Jones and McGregor are too inactive to be considered. Pound 4 pound rankings are a murky area though. 

I agree with your last sentence. I think the most likely outcome is Khabib mauling Tony, but there are several other possibilities. It's a 60/40 fight on paper.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's going to interest me the most is seeing if Khabib can mentally break Ferguson the way he does most of his opponents. The look in the eyes of fighters like Edson Barboza, Michael Johnson and even RDA after the first few rounds when they return to their corner tells a story all of its own.

I think it's that ability to mentally break people that allows him to win fights in such dominating fashion, but will it work against Ferguson? We've not seen Khabib face someone who can overcome that initial dumping on their arse and not get downhearted.

It's going to be fantastic. I keep waiting on news that it's been cancelled for some reason or other to be honest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said:

Good post, David.

Khabib rarely finishes fights, but they're usually over after the first anyway. It will be interesting because Ferguson is one of those weirdos that seems to get a kick out of a proper scrap.

It is, it's going to be all manner of awesome. I think it's safe to say that for both fighters, this is their toughest fight. They're facing the toughest test they will probably ever face in their division.

Christ, if we see a great fight i wouldn't be against it drawing out into a trilogy or something. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
6 hours ago, David said:

What's going to interest me the most is seeing if Khabib can mentally break Ferguson the way he does most of his opponents. The look in the eyes of fighters like Edson Barboza, Michael Johnson and even RDA after the first few rounds when they return to their corner tells a story all of its own.

 

i think anyone on the recieving end of a Khabib mauling would be broken. Tony may have the ability to catch someone off the bottom but to be unable to do anything to stop him actually putting you there must be incredibly disheartening, Khabib punishes you whilst he's at it too, there's no laying and praying going on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...