Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 3 hours ago, jimufctna24 said: Volkanovski continues to be underrated: Stipe too. I’m assuming the Nick there is Nick Peet? That would explain why he’s picked Darren Till to be the champ at 185 by the end of the year. ‘He’ll be champ because he’s from Liverpool like me’ must be his logic because there’s no other reason to believe he’ll go from coming off a loss against Whittaker to becoming champ within the next 11 months in a division with Adesanya, Whittaker, Holland, Brunson, Vettori, Cannonier, Hermansson etc swimming around in the deep end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 Some very strange picks there I think. No idea why Stipe wouldn't be nailed on favourite to still be champ. I'd have him a clear favourite against all the possible contenders. As well as that, you have three people picking Oliviera? I'd be surprised if he even finds himself in the title fight, nevermind winning it. I'm not saying that should be the case, but that division doesn't feel any sooner to getting cleared up to me. It might only have one fight for the title all year. I really expected McGregor Vs Poirier to be for the belt, but now that it's not, the waters are still muddy there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 Yeah the Oliveira clean sweep there is a bit odd. And I’ve been bumming Oliveira for years now, longer than these Johnny come latelys. I get why people are buzzing about him more now with how dominant he was against Tony Ferguson but that could’ve been just as much down to the wars finally catching up with Ferguson after the beating he took from Gaethje. As great as it is to see Oliveira finally getting some love and getting talked about in the title mix, I’m still not sure I fancy him against the top 3 or 4 in the division. If he goes out and does to a Gaethje or Poirier or McGregor what he did to Ferguson then that’ll indicate that he really has levelled up and it wasn’t so much a case of him simply catching Ferguson at the right time. But I wouldn’t be confident picking him against anyone currently ranked above him (Poirier, Gaethje, Khabib at the moment). And I know the MMA social media consensus now seems to be that he’d walk through McGregor because grappling, and who knows, maybe he would. But I think people are forgetting he’s also folded a bunch of times against strikers and I think it’s just as likely McGregor would get to him before the grappling really got going. I’d be 50/50 on that if it happened now. While Oliveira is an awesome grappler (and a bit of an underrated striker), it’s not the same kind of imposing, suffocating style as Khabib at all. For example, I highly doubt Oliveira would be able to just walk Gaethje down on the feet and then force the grappling on him like Khabib did. I’ve rambled and I actually hope they’re right. Of the current crop at 155, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather see the belt on than Oliveira or Poirier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 (edited) The HW choices are definitely an odd one - whilst Jones being virtually undefeated means a bout with Miocic would be difficult to predict, in terms of style matchups I'd say Miocic is not one that favours him like his other opponents were. Jones does particularly well against direct, dynamic opponents, but Stipe is crafty, experienced, and has high fight IQ. I don't think it's a given he'd beat Jones, but his those advantages, coupled with his size and Jones' relative inexperience at HW, might be too much. 6 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: And I know the MMA social media consensus now seems to be that he’d walk through McGregor because grappling, and who knows, maybe he would. But I think people are forgetting he’s also folded a bunch of times against strikers and I think it’s just as likely McGregor would get to him before the grappling really got going. I’d be 50/50 on that if it happened now. While Oliveira is an awesome grappler (and a bit of an underrated striker), it’s not the same kind of imposing, suffocating style as Khabib at all. For example, I highly doubt Oliveira would be able to just walk Gaethje down on the feet and then force the grappling on him like Khabib did. Also, McG's defensive grappling has been largely underrated, I think, because of a) how long that narrative's gone on for, and b) just how dominant Nurmagomedov was in grappling in general. IIRC he actually did surprisingly well against Nurmagomedov for a chunk of that match, before finally succumbing to it, so he obviously has improved his defence to enough of a degree to make it less of a foregone conclusion that he'd be easy meat to any wrestlers. Edited January 15, 2021 by Carbomb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 4 minutes ago, Carbomb said: The HW choices are definitely an odd one - whilst Jones being virtually undefeated means a bout with Miocic would be difficult to predict, in terms of style matchups I'd say Miocic is not one that favours him like his other opponents were. Jones does particularly well against direct, dynamic opponents, but Stipe is crafty, experienced, and has high fight IQ. I don't think it's a given he'd beat Jones, but his those advantages, coupled with his size and Jones' relative inexperience at HW, might be too much. I'd favour Miocic over Jones in a striking battle. Jones has never been the best boxer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 Just now, jimufctna24 said: I'd favour Miocic over Jones in a striking battle. Jones has never been the best boxer. True, but that reach of his has often made up for that. It's crazy that, even at HW, he has that advantage - apparently Miocic's is shorter by 6 inches (one for the "out of context" thread there). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 (edited) 23 minutes ago, Carbomb said: True, but that reach of his has often made up for that. It's crazy that, even at HW, he has that advantage - apparently Miocic's is shorter by 6 inches (one for the "out of context" thread there). Jones is at his best when he's striking against come-forward plodders like DC and Rampage. He was troubled by two decent, yet very ordinary, boxers in Gusty and Reyes. Miocic's boxing and footwork is a level above imo, and if he's still the Miocic of old, or anywhere close to it, I think he beats Jones. Edited January 15, 2021 by jimufctna24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 (edited) It’s also forgotten that, despite Jones’ reach, Cormier landed quite a lot on Jones in both of their fights despite clearly losing both. Some of that is down to DC being better than he’s given credit for at getting inside though. He landed a lot more on the likes of Miocic and Gustafsson than you’d think he should’ve been able to. Jones is a ridiculously good fighter. One of the very best ever. I actually wouldn’t be shocked if he went up to Heavyweight, looked at home there and became champ. But I would favour Stipe if they fight this year as I hope/expect. If it’s Ngannou I give Jones a much better shot but even then, Ngannou’s power and the chance (however slim) of seeing Jones finally get sparked after all these years would make that one proper edge of the seat viewing. Then there’s the wildcard in Overeem. For a division that’s lacking depth and doesn’t have much in the way of exciting new blood coming through (Gane aside), that four (Miocic, Ngannou, Jones, Reem) in the title mix is absolutely mouth watering when you think of the matchups. Almost any combination you mix and match them it’s a great fight or has an interesting backstory to it like Reem going for redemption and UFC gold against Stipe or Francis, Reem vs Jones with their history at Jackson’s etc. Edited January 15, 2021 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 43 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: It’s also forgotten that, despite Jones’ reach, Cormier landed quite a lot on Jones in both of their fights despite clearly losing both. Some of that is down to DC being better than he’s given credit for at getting inside though. He landed a lot more on the likes of Miocic and Gustafsson than you’d think he should’ve been able to. Absolutely true. The first fight in particular, it seemed like DC had got the formula down - he was getting inside and pounding Jones' body like a steak. Then that eye-poke came, and he seemed to completely deflate. 43 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: Jones is a ridiculously good fighter. One of the very best ever. I actually wouldn’t be shocked if he went up to Heavyweight, looked at home there and became champ. But I would favour Stipe if they fight this year as I hope/expect. If it’s Ngannou I give Jones a much better shot but even then, Ngannou’s power and the chance (however slim) of seeing Jones finally get sparked after all these years would make that one proper edge of the seat viewing. Then there’s the wildcard in Overeem. I must admit, less likely as it is, the prospect of Big Fran punching Jones' soul out of his fucking head would have me tuning in. 43 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: For a division that’s lacking depth and doesn’t have much in the way of exciting new blood coming through (Gane aside), that four (Miocic, Ngannou, Jones, Reem) in the title mix is absolutely mouth watering when you think of the matchups. Almost any combination you mix and match them it’s a great fight or has an interesting backstory to it like Reem going for redemption and UFC gold against Stipe or Francis, Reem vs Jones with their history at Jackson’s etc. Not as likely to happen, but Jones/Rozenstruik could be fun too. Also, whilst it probably wouldn't be a fun fight, I think Jones/Blaydes could be intriguing, because style-wise I don't imagine it's fun times for Jones if it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 3 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:  I’m assuming the Nick there is Nick Peet? Yeh, its Nick Peet. I love the Fight Disciple guys though, their show is always worth a listen. Id take the picks with a pinch of salt, some of their picks come from left field just so they can say "i told you so" at the end of the year if something crazy happens, it's all fairly light hearted. We should have done that thread here though and looked back at the end of the year. Shall we still do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 uh oh, shit is happening: Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 2 hours ago, Egg Shen said: Â We should have done that thread here though and looked back at the end of the year. Shall we still do it? Let's do it! And for added fun, rather than just say a fighter with no background, we could give the narrative on where we think they got to the title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfogg1991 Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 17 minutes ago, Egg Shen said: uh oh, shit is happening:  Oh shit the meeting with Khabib is happening today on Fight island!!!?? I thought it was happening last week before they flew over. There was a interview with Dana White put out on youtube the other day and he said He isn't going to beat around the bush he's asking a straight up Yes or no for you doing 1 more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 He hasn’t been beating around the bush anyway, has he? From almost the nanosecond Khabib announced his retirement, Dana’s been mentioning it and saying he thinks Khabib will fight again, thinks Khabib should fight again (against his mother’s wishes) and so on. He’s already said no a load of times. Why’s Dana acting like Khabib owes him some explanation? If he wants to retire, leave him be. I’m not even saying Khabib definitely won’t be back. He’s still young, still obviously in his prime and him retiring came right on the heels of his old man dying and that whole training camp and fight week must’ve been an emotional rollercoaster for him. There’s always a chance he’ll feel differently later. But even interviews weeks and months after that Gaethje fight, when emotions wouldn’t have been quite so raw, Khabib still seemed content with his decision. They’ll probably offer him a ridiculous amount of money to come back. If he fancies spanking McGregor or something again for a few million then more power to him. But I really hope he just sticks to his guns and Dana doesn’t get his own way for once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Bus Surfer Posted January 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted January 15, 2021 I guess Dana forgot about his 'If A guy is talking retirement then he should probably retire' schpiel.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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