Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted May 8 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 8 2 hours ago, Dai said: Yeah, Shogun is an absolute legend. One of my favourates during the Pride days. Especially after that Coleman UFC fight, people were being very quick to write him off and say he was past it. I think it's fair to say he was definitely on the decline from the start of his UFC career, which is insane as he was only 28. Oh yeah, Dana especially thought Shogun was done after that Coleman fight in Dublin. It’s on camera from one of his old video blogs where he rushes into Shogun’s locker room immediately after the fight and puts him on the spot, with a camera in his face, about fighting Chuck Liddell on a fairly quick turnaround. Yep… Chuck was in his own slump at the time and coming off that horrid one punch KO loss against Rashad Evans so Dana was looking to get his boy back in the win column and saw Shogun as easy pickings. A big name win over a shot Shogun. I like Chuck but the way that backfired is up there with one of the most satisfying fight results ever for me. Then to make it even better, they then ‘fed him’ to undefeated champ Machida, who opponents could barely lay a glove on, much less beat, and Shogun solved the puzzle twice (despite the dodgy decision the first time) and sparked him in the rematch. Just beautiful stuff. It was never gonna last obviously. Even in the win over Machida I think he re-injured his knee. And then Jon Jones came along and that was a wrap for Shogun’s reign. But I’m so glad he got to win that belt. If he didn’t win it when he did, Jones would’ve won it off someone else and Shogun would’ve gone down as one of the greatest Light Heavyweights to never hold UFC gold. Would’ve been a travesty. It’s actually quite remarkable he had the run he did in the UFC despite the horror show of injuries he had coming in the door. People forget but that layoff after he lost his UFC debut to Forrest Griffin was brutal. He was out about 15 months and in that time he had his knee completely reconstructed, started training again and then blew the knee out again and had to have it redone. Just nightmare stuff. No wonder he looked 80 years old in his return against Coleman! When you watch his fights back as well, you notice how he had to revamp his style after the injuries. You watch his Pride fights and he’s much more of a kicker and knee-er than a boxer. Later in his career when his knees were knackered, he became much more of a puncher and started knocking people out with his hands, which he wasn’t doing in his younger days. I don’t think he gets credit for how he kind of reinvented his style halfway through his career and still had success. I’m yapping. Could talk about Shogun and Wandy and that era for pages and pages 🤣 24 minutes ago, Kfogg1991 said: Once again no damage taken so I expect he will be fighting again with a quick turnaround and I know it's slightly biased but get that Man on the Manchester ppv he would get a unbelievable reception here and I hope his phenomenal rise and win streak continues. If they put Pereira on the Manchester card and they want him against a UK fighter, I can’t think of a better time to bring Darren Till back. I’d love to see Pereira 360 Haduken punch him into oblivion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfogg1991 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 A fight with till would be too perfect but definitely not happening he's done podcasts recently and said he's going into influencer boxing and has a fight ready to announce in a couple of weeks I don't see him returning anytime soon at the very least until he's had a boxing fight and made some decent money not a chance. I don't think there's much need or want from the UFC to have him back yet it won't gain anything in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted May 8 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 8 Love this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted May 9 Paid Members Share Posted May 9 How good was it to see Aldo look like he hadn't skipped a beat? His offensive and defensive boxing was slick here and he utilised a lot more kicks than in recent fights too. This worked out a treat for Jose. A very good win, in Rio, another solid payday as well as clearing out his contract with the chance to renegotiate. If Merab didn't have that recent win over Aldo I'd just be saying book Aldo and O'Malley right now. As it is, Merab should still get that fight, but I think they should keep Aldo as either an emergency alternate, fight the winner or else book him straight into a #1 contenders fight. Don't miss the bloody boat again. On the right day against the right opponent, I don't think he's any worse than 50/50 in a title fight with several of the top boys at 135. Merab is probably Kryptonite like. But I can see a path to victory for him against some other matchups. I wouldn't play the long game on it though. Erceg and Pontoja had a really top notch, close fight. Thought rounds 1 through 3 could have been scored either way. 4 was definitely for Erceg and 5 for Pantoja. I would have had no problems with the decision either way. I hope it's not an immediate rematch next, but Erceg definitely shows he belongs and that a title win is probably in his near future. His striking was certainly superior to Pantoja's here, but Pantoja is very well rounded, experienced and has that relentlessness that make him a bastard to deal with. In a re-match though I could easily see how Erceg might chin him early. I'd like to see them both have a couple of fights against others and return to this next year if it works out that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted May 9 Paid Members Share Posted May 9 I reckon Aldo should just go to PFL now, get some of that sweet, sweet oil money. He's by no means shot, but he's definitely not at the zenith of his powers. He could still reign as king in the PFL as it currently is, while earning the kind of money that someone of his calibre and legacy deserves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfogg1991 Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 Am I right in thinking I read that was the last fight on Aldo's contract?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted May 9 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 9 7 hours ago, WeeAl said: In a re-match though I could easily see how Erceg might chin him early. I'd like to see them both have a couple of fights against others and return to this next year if it works out that way. I think this will turn out to be a big confidence booster and a real positive lesson for Erceg in the long run. Yeah he fucked up in the 5th but, while I’m sure he believed in himself going in, now he’ll know 100% that he can compete with the elite of the division and victory was absolutely within his reach. It was the kind of loss where you can see him making adjustments and winning the rematch. But I think his best chance of achieving that isn’t in doing it immediately like I suspect they might. I feel like time is definitely Erceg’s friend here. He’s only 6 years younger than Pantoja but he’s had less than half the amount of fights, so a lot less miles on the clock. I certainly get why he’d jump at an instant rematch because it’s another crack at the gold and he was so close this time. And I’m not even saying he can’t win an immediate re-run. But I think letting Pantoja have a gruelling fight or two more, and getting more cage time and experience himself in the meantime, might just make Erceg’s job a bit easier next time. 6 hours ago, Carbomb said: I reckon Aldo should just go to PFL now, get some of that sweet, sweet oil money. He's by no means shot, but he's definitely not at the zenith of his powers. He could still reign as king in the PFL as it currently is, while earning the kind of money that someone of his calibre and legacy deserves. While I totally get your thinking and if he can get a better deal off PFL then he should absolutely bite their hand off. Purely as a fan, for my own selfish needs, there are some fights out there that I’m sure would be fun, but I can’t think of anything in PFL for Aldo that we really need to see. Whereas in the UFC? At 135 you’ve got the WEC dream match with Dom Cruz, Cejudo maybe, an all Brazilian scrap with Figgy, a sure-fire barnburner with Sandhagen, a potential title fight with O’Malley etc. If he chose to revisit 145 there’s mouth watering matchups with the likes of Yair, Ortega, Barboza (imagine!), even Diego Lopes. And of course, there’s always the outside chance he finally bags that McGregor rematch. That one seems unlikely at this point but you never know. Don’t get me wrong, I’d be made up for him if he got some silly money deal from PFL and cashed in before his career ends and before the PFL gravy train inevitably crashes. But fight-wise, there’s way more to sink the teeth into in the UFC than out of it. 16 minutes ago, Kfogg1991 said: Am I right in thinking I read that was the last fight on Aldo's contract?? Yep. On 5/8/2024 at 2:38 AM, wandshogun09 said: Not even sure what’s next for Aldo. It’s common knowledge that this was the last fight on his UFC contract.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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