Jump to content

UFC 242: Khabib vs Poirier - Sep 7 🇦🇪


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?   

15 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

  • Moderators

Great main event. Khabib is just a monster, you could really see Poirier get dejected after catching Khabib with that punch in the 2nd and not be able to finish it. The guillotine in the third looked promising but Khabib kept mobile enough to nullify it. I really felt for Poirier in the post match speech, clearly he'd given everything and had felt unable to do much against Khabib and that was destroying for him.

Khabib vs Tony is the only fight I wanna see next. Get any talk of McGregor out of there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
32 minutes ago, neil said:

you could really see Poirier get dejected after catching Khabib with that punch in the 2nd and not be able to finish it

Poirier clearly took a massive big breath just before Khabib got him down (with no problems) in the 2nd. Poirier gave everything he had for a solid minute trying to finish Khabib, but it all ended with him getting thrown on his arse, again.

In some ways, the Khabib v Tony fight taking so long to happen (hopefully) is probably a good thing. Both men are much better than the last time they were scheduled to fight, and much bigger stars too. They're both undeniably the two best in the division and maybe in the divisions history.

Edited by ColinBollocks
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

If McGregor is ever going to fight again rather than just talk and tweet utter bollocks and assault the elderly, then it should be against the winner of next week’s Cerrone vs Gaethje fight. The 155 division has never been more straight forward for me than it is right now in terms of logically matchmaking the top fights. Khabib vs Ferguson for the title, Cerrone/Gaethje vs McGregor. If McGregor beats the winner of that, sure, give him the winner of Khabib vs Ferguson. But why it has to be next I don’t know. The only reason why McGregor and Dana would push for him to get a title shot next, IMO, is that they’re not confident he wins a contender fight to get him there. Why else would they be going to such lengths to justify him jumping the queue when there’s such an obvious and deserving contender in Ferguson right there waiting for his crack at the gold? If McGregor, his fans and Dana are so confident that he’s still ‘the man’, a Cerrone or Gaethje is surely easy work for him and only makes the title shot against Khabib or Ferguson that much bigger with Conor coming off a win, his first since 20-fucking-16! 

This bit of Khabib’s interview with Brett Okamoto sums it up;

Khabib is no saint and I can see why he’s disliked by some, but you can’t fault him here. He could easily opt for the McGregor rematch and probably make more money for an easier night’s work. But he wants to fight the Poiriers, Fergusons and GSPs of the world. Not “guy who never win”. Spot on. 

I’ve actually read some McGregor fans acting like Khabib is scared of the rematch which is fucking hilarious. Schaub should use that one in his useless standup comedy routine. Why would you duck a fight you won piss easy the first time, to take harder fights like Ferguson and GSP? 

Edited by wandshogun09
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

In fairness wand, if the reports are to be believed, Conor was supposed to have a fight against a contender earlier this year but got injured. Conor has unreal self belief so I'm sure he fancies his chances against everyone, but Dana is definitely just trying to make the big matches with Conor while he can - I mean, Brock Lesnar v DC was going to happen before Brock got Vince to give him favourable terms, Dana / the owners don't care they want the coin.

Conor needs to get back fighting proper again. By that I mean at least 2 fights a year and against contenders, not super fights. If Conor is ever beating Khabib it's when he's sharp and Octagon ready, not a fight every year followed/proceeded by being a coked up shit head. While Conor is out there doing a line and partying, a Tony or Poirier are winning fights and grinding in the gym; how is Conor beating them with that sort of disparity in commitment? Particularly when he's miles away from Khabib/Tony, ability wise, already.

Edited by ColinBollocks
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I guess so. But aren’t those reports all coming from that Conor interview with Helwani? When Mr I Had Broken Foot, Honest is the source I’m not sure how much stock to put into it. If I’m remembering right, Conor was saying there were a bunch of names being thrown around, with the frontrunner being a fight with Justin Gaethje at MSG in July. Sounds great. But I have my doubts about that as well because I don’t recall anywhere reputable ever reporting even a hint of a show at MSG in July. And it’s not like the Garden is the type of venue you can just pick up and drop willy nilly. I’d have thought you’d have to book MSG well in advance. If he’s made that bit up, then the rest of it has a whiff of shite about it to me as well. I just don’t believe a thing he says anymore. 

The thing is now, the only thing that might’ve made the rematch attractive to Khabib would be the payday. But the reports are that he cleared $6 mill on this Poirier fight and that’s before you even factor in his PPV points. Granted, the PPV cut against McGregor would’ve been astronomical, the show did over 2 million buys, so all in he’ll surely have made more on that. But he doesn’t need McGregor at this point. He already won that war, got paid, has the belt etc. Now he’s moving on to cement his legacy as the GOAT. I get why the UFC want it but it doesn’t make it any less goofy and when Conor ultimately goes 0-2 to Khabib and fucks off for good, well then the UFC aren’t making any more coin off him again. It’s fast money and it’s big money but it’s a one time payout. I can’t help thinking this wouldn’t be happening in the Fertitta era. There seems to be zero long term vision now. Just who brings in the coin now and we’ll worry about next year next year. 

If we end up getting Khabib vs McGregor 2 and somehow never seeing Khabib vs Ferguson it might well be more depressing for me than Tito vs Chuck 3, BJ Penn getting decked by a fat drunk in a Hawaiian back alley at 4am, Frank Mir breaking Big Nog’s arm and the sight of GAD with a microphone. It would be a total travesty. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't McGregor volunteer to fight Edgar on short notice?

Anyway, I am not opposed to Khabib vs McGregor 2 happening somewhere down the line. However, I don't want it to happen at the expense of Khabib vs Ferguson or even Khabib vs Gaethje. Those are far more interesting match-ups in my opinion. 

13 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

the sight of GAD with a microphone

A sight I have seen far too many times lately. 

The fucker is still everywhere: IFL, Bellator' preview shows, Sky Sports, etc. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
20 minutes ago, jimufctna24 said:

Didn't McGregor volunteer to fight Edgar on short notice? 

Again though, isn’t that coming from McGregor? I’m sceptical. And I’m sure both Edgar and his coach Mark Henry have said the fight could’ve happened a couple of times and McGregor didn’t follow up on it. I’d believe them over old Will Sniff. 

I agree with your second paragraph there, to be fair. As long as we get Khabib vs Ferguson, after that fuck it, let Khabib ruin McGregor again. But I’d much sooner see McGregor face someone else. There’s plenty of more appealing fights to put him in. There’s Gaethje or Cerrone as the obvious choices as we’ve said. But fuck, Conor vs Nate 3, Conor vs Holloway 2, Conor vs Masvidal, Conor vs Aldo 2, Conor vs Ferguson down the line. There’s no shortage of really fun fights for him. Yet they persist with the one that’ll be a carbon copy of the first fight with the same result and with probably uglier pre-fight buildup and even worse post-fight fallout. 

Anyway, balls to all of that. This is just magical. Khabib and Tony - The Never Ending Story...

 

Edited by wandshogun09
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even from a business perspective it doesn't seem to make much sense chucking McG in there with Khabib right away. Surely the best idea would be matching him with a striker that he can be competitive with? It'll make big money regardless, and if he wins it gives him a chance to get back on his routine pre-fight with his mind games, get on the mic post-fight if he wins and claim he's wanting Khabib and all that jazz, which then leads to an even bigger 2nd payday down the line?

Or am I being stupid?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Getting Khabib means he'll be getting a shot at the title, though. If Poirier won last night, I'm sure Conor would be gunning for him instead.

As discussed, Conor just needs to stay active, so I agree that he should be having a fight or two before getting a title shot. He's a fighter, at his best, that relies so much on sharpness and slick movement.

Edited by ColinBollocks
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Dana said pre-242 that Ferguson would be next. Now i know what Dana says and does are sometimes two different things but given Conor's recent behaviour i believe him. Conor against the winner or next weeks main event is the way to go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Agreed. TBH at this point if Conor chooses to come back then it shouldn't be anywhere near the title for at least 2 fights. Stick him in there with Cowboy, Gaethje, Poirier 2 or a rematch with Aldo. All of these can headline a big PPV card & are decent matches for a man who's fought (and lost) once in 3 years.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Breen on Khabib vs Ferguson/Greatest Lightweight Ever. 

Full article here - https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2019/9/8/20854994/ufc-242-editorial-on-the-cruciality-of-an-eagle-and-a-boogeyman-khabib-ferguson

Quote

 

On the other side of the coin, for fans and media, it’s been a long-running debate as to who the greatest lightweight in MMA history is. Now, not every division has it so easy: Stipe Miocic’s recent, redemptive knockout of Daniel Cormier has complicated the heavyweight history book, nevermind the protests from Fedor Emelianenko diehards; many may champion Max Holloway over Jose Aldo at 145 pounds by virtue of his two head-to-head wins; bantamweight is a mess with the constant turnover in the division; and can we still call Joanna Jedrezczyk the greatest strawweight woman ever with the constant flux we’ve seen recently at 115 pounds?

Still, lightweight has been complicated for longer and produces less compelling answers as to the all-time greatest. Is it Takanori Gomi for his longevity, star power and two spells atop the division? Is it B.J. Penn, who once destroyed Gomi, but never racked up that many great lightweight wins and in fact, his best win ever is a welterweight upset of Matt Hughes? Is it Eddie Alvarez for racking up major wins over the division’s best fighters for 12 years? None of them seem like satisfactory answers. This is a sport of constant flux, so I wouldn’t expect any individual fight outcome to stain the history book for the next century, but a Nurmagomedov-Ferguson fight would offer us the best vision at the most dominant lightweight we’ve ever had, which at this point, I think is something the best division in MMA deserves.

 

Edited by jimufctna24
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I definitely think Khabib vs Ferguson is the two best lightweights right now. And if Khabib wins I’d have him as the GOAT at 155, no question. Who could you rate higher? Like your man says there, the rest are all muddied in some way. Guys like Gomi, Penn and Pettis all looked like they might eventually go down as the best lightweight ever at one time or another. But they all shone brightly for short spells. Khabib is undefeated over an 11 year career, consistently beating top guys and not just beating them, ragdolling them. And I’d argue he’s doing it at a time when the division is probably stronger than ever. The overall skill level is certainly higher than when those other names had the top spot. If he faces Ferguson and wins then there’s no doubt for me that he’s the best 155er of all time. I think he is now, to be honest. But a win over Ferguson would really cement it. On top of dominant wins over Poirier, McGregor, Iaquinta, Dos Anjos etc, while barely losing a round along the way, don’t think anyone’s come close to that really. 

Likewise, if Ferguson beats Khabib he’d have to be well in the convo. He’s already one of the best lightweights ever but if he became the champion and the first man to hand Khabib a loss in one night, who’s arguing against him? 

It’s just another reason why Khabib vs Ferguson needs to happen. Not only is it the right fight to make in terms of the title picture, not only is it a fascinating pairing of styles, and not only because it should’ve happened 4 or 5 times already. But it’s probably the two best lightweights in MMA history and they’re in their primes at the exact same time. You don’t get that shit often and you certainly don’t pass up the chance to make the fight for a rematch of a squash match. 

Khabib vs Ferguson is the one. 

256F1808-B088-4D41-B6C7-5AD81B177496.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...