Mixed Martial Arts Thread (UFC and others)

[bhlloy]

I’ve seen a worse KO than that in person at a small venue in Orange County, although very similar. Guy got tagged with a kick in the first few seconds and started twitching for 5-10 seconds and then stopped moving. Thankfully he was OK after a few minutes but thought he was dead and he had a ton of friends and family there which made it even more horrible.

Hope the guy in that video is ok as well

[CrescentMoonie]

Finishes in all 4 fight pass bouts and I'm really looking forward to every fight on the prelim and main event cards tonight.

[CrescentMoonie]

Yancy Meideros vs Alex Olievera was a late entry into the fight of the year discussion.

[Chief Rum]

Was a good night of fights

[Chief Rum]

Except Cejudo-Pettis. That one sucked

[PilotMan]

GSP did the smartest thing he could and dumped the 185lb belt. He had no intention of staying there, he is a horrible match up for the much bigger guys there now.

[molson]

I don't know if there were negotiations behind the scenes, but it was pretty cool for GSP not to hold up the division and to instead move on, and to not drag shit out forever as a bargaining chip for whatever he wants to do next. And just like that, Robert Whittaker is the clear and legit champion of that division. Good for him.

McGregor should do the same. Tony Ferguson should be the clear and legit champion of that division, and it holds his potential star power back just a bit for the UFC to hold onto this hope that McGregor will fight again. And if he does, great, he'll generate a ton of PPVs buys, but he doesn't need the title.

[PilotMan]

That's what they've done in the past though. Couture held that title and they didn't strip him while they were in a pissing contest over contracts. When he came back it kept the legitimacy of who the champion was. I'm not sure that having 2 belts really holds up the division. It recognizes the guys who have won, while letting the other champs stay relevant, if only in name. I do see your point though, and perhaps it does hold them back a little bit, but you know what Ric Flair would say.

I know GSP's contract stipulated that he would have to defend at 185 if he won the title, but it sounds like they simply renegotiated everything. No way he should be fighting at 185 anyway. Carrying that much weight is silly on his smaller frame.

[BYU 14]

I know it's not MMA, but tonight's fight between Lomachenko and Rigondeaux is one I am really looking forward to. On free TV no less and should highlight arguably the top P4P guy in the sport right now against a tough undefeated opponent.

We don't get these kind of fights for free much anymore.

[molson]

It's too bad that the clear best two fighters at Lightweight are only semi-active and/or retired. It would be fun to see them fight, but McGregor is too rich, and Nurmagomedov is too fragile

[molson]

Big John McCarthy has retired as a ref and is now the full-time Bellator color commentator.

Didn't see that coming.

[PilotMan]

wtf is going on in the UFC?

Losing Ferguson the week of the fight, of what was probably the most anticipated match for hardcore MMA fans, in recent times, then some Conor does his thing today and Dana basically says he's going to jail and probably won't fight for them anytime soon.

Seriously, wtf.

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

wtf is going on in the UFC?

Kayfabe?

[IlliniCub]

3 fights have now been canceled as a result of the Conor incident.

[PilotMan]

The UFC should sue the everloving shit out of Conor. Just for all the pain he's brought with his contract demands and posing. Yeah, he's brought intrigue, but they hitched their horse to the wrong wagon with him. Lost a lot of credibility in the process.

[IlliniCub]

Over/under on when he fights for UFC again? I imagine they'll bring him back to do big business at some point down the line. As stupid as this is I have a feeling it increases his drawing power down the road when people are clamoring to see him again, everyone loves a comeback story. Heck they tried to do business with Jon Jones again. That said wow, it's Wrestlemania weekend and this is crazier than any angle the WWE will run.

[PilotMan]

And as a hard core guy, who just wants to see top level guys, deserving of their stature go at it, it makes me kind of sick. It's a main reason why the UFC isn't getting much of my time. My WMMA5 game is far more interesting.

[IlliniCub]

Agreed I've lost a lot of interest in UFC and really haven't bought and have no plans to buy a ppv in the near future ( probably will when Brock comes back). I've found myself trending back towards boxing with the recent run of great Heavyweight fights, as well as watching lesser regional MMA promotions on the FITE app.

[bhlloy]

If they were serious they'd cut anyone in his camp and then promise never to do business with him again, but yeah. This is just hype for his comeback and to sell a bunch more PPV. Not saying the incident wasn't real but Dana never met a situation that allows him to make more money he didn't like.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

If they were serious they'd cut anyone in his camp and then promise never to do business with him again, but yeah. This is just hype for his comeback and to sell a bunch more PPV. Not saying the incident wasn't real but Dana never met a situation that allows him to make more money he didn't like.

Which is why he has this happen. Conor is a grown ass man and is responsible for being an Asshat, but it is the monster Dana created. Fuck 'em both.

[bhlloy]

I get there's a lot of things outside of the UFC's control, but man - Al Iaquinta in a title fight (even though he's not eligible to win it?)

At least I'm not going to be remotely tempted to buy it. What a cluster all around.

[JonInMiddleGA]

They HAVE to suspend Nurmawhatzit after that post-match stuff ... right?

I mean, you can't have that and retain any claim to being legit.

[bhlloy]

I didn’t watch the fight, and it sounds like what happened was completely inexcusable and Khabib deserves to have the belt stripped, but surely some of this is on Dana and the way he welcomed McGregor back as the prodigal son returning after he assaulted a bus full of fighters, disrupted a PPV card and nearly ended a pretty decent fighter’s career?

I have no doubt once the outrage dies down, we will have another promoted and sanctioned rematch that will make the UFC a lot of money.

[Neon_Chaos]

All hail Khabib, destroyer of worlds.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I have no doubt once the outrage dies down, we will have another promoted and sanctioned rematch that will make the UFC a lot of money.

My suggestion was that they make the next one a Lumberjack Match

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I didn’t watch the fight, and it sounds like what happened was completely inexcusable and Khabib deserves to have the belt stripped, but surely some of this is on Dana and the way he welcomed McGregor back as the prodigal son returning after he assaulted a bus full of fighters, disrupted a PPV card and nearly ended a pretty decent fighter’s career?

I have no doubt once the outrage dies down, we will have another promoted and sanctioned rematch that will make the UFC a lot of money.

It was pathetic and the guys in Khabib's entourage are cowards the way they sucker punched McGregor. All 3 of them have been arrested, we'll see how that plays out.

Dana said Khabib would face possible suspension, but put that off on the Nevada Athletic committee. So it is still to be what action he takes after they finish their investigation. Rest assured he will find a way to profit off it though.

Total bullshit from everyone in Khabib's camp, and the last 6 months have started to show him to be a piece of shit, but again this is what Dana brought on himself. All these theatrics and WWE style crap to sell tickets might actually bite him in the ass finally.

[JonInMiddleGA]

If you haven't seen the Lewis (I think that's right, the guy who got the last minute KO) post-fight interview ... yeah, do that.

My kid tipped me to it, not often you hear one of those things where the phrase "Trump called me" comes up

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

If you haven't seen the Lewis (I think that's right, the guy who got the last minute KO) post-fight interview ... yeah, do that.

My kid tipped me to it, not often you hear one of those things where the phrase "Trump called me" comes up

That interview in itself made the card

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

It was pathetic and the guys in Khabib's entourage are cowards the way they sucker punched McGregor. All 3 of them have been arrested, we'll see how that plays out.

Dana said Khabib would face possible suspension, but put that off on the Nevada Athletic committee. So it is still to be what action he takes after they finish their investigation. Rest assured he will find a way to profit off it though.

Total bullshit from everyone in Khabib's camp, and the last 6 months have started to show him to be a piece of shit, but again this is what Dana brought on himself. All these theatrics and WWE style crap to sell tickets might actually bite him in the ass finally.

The last guy to attack people outside the cage got a huge 7 fight deal. Soooooo.

You're right. It's a complete disgrace, but I'll be honest, i'm laughing at everyone who thinks Conor is the saint in all this. Conor's camp called one of Kabib's crew a rat fucking terrorist. This is, Conor's chickens coming home to roost.

The real end result is that any respectable company would fire Dana and clean house. They really don't give a fuck about the fighters, only the bottom line. As long as that's healthy other fighters will keep following the Conor method of self promotion. Really, it's not Conor, it's the Chael method, but whatever.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

If you haven't seen the Lewis (I think that's right, the guy who got the last minute KO) post-fight interview ... yeah, do that.

My kid tipped me to it, not often you hear one of those things where the phrase "Trump called me" comes up

Never watched MMA. Never read this thread, but the clip below came across my timeline this morning, and I can't stop watching it.

Rogan: why did you take your pants off?
Lewis: Cause my balls was hot.
Rogan: I understand. #ufc229 #outstanding
pic.twitter.com/xm3xwUzbDk

— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) October 7, 2018

[PilotMan]

From the post fight:


“I do not understand how people can talk about ‘I jumped from the cage.’” Nurmagomedov said. “Worry about, he talked about my religion, he talk about my country, he talk about my father, he come to Brooklyn and he broke bus, he almost killed a couple people. Worry about this. Worry about this sh*t. Why people talk about ‘I jump over the cage?’ Why people still talk about this? I don’t understand.”

Nurmagomedov was also clearly bothered by McGregor’s comments in hyping the fight, which cut personally. McGregor, among other things, insulted the champion’s father and questioned his ties to Russian oligarchs and Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. The champion also hinted at a belief the media is to blame for the escalating emphasis on trash talk in the mixed martial arts world.

“I want to say something, you know, people little bit, not people, I think it is media, media change MMA,” Nurmagomedov said. “This is respect sport. This is not trash-talking sport. This is respect. I told you before, guys, I want to change this game. I don’t want people talk shit about, like, opponents, talk shit about his father, religion. You cannot talk about religion, you cannot talk about nation, guys, you cannot talk about this stuff. For me, this is very important.”

[PilotMan]

Some good pro takes in here.
https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/10/...-after-ufc-229

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Some good pro takes in here.
https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/10/...-after-ufc-229

Interesting that some of those folks seem to forget that the Bus incident was precipitated by a large number of Khabib's crew surrounding one of Conor's guys in a prior incident and going after him.

Khabib is no saint and Conor isn't either, he should have had a stiffer punishment for the bus incident and Khabib should be heavily punished for this. Like you said, ultimately this will sell more tickets and that is all Dana, with his feigned indignation cares about.

In terms of trash talk about all the stuff Khabib was addressing, yeah it's douchy but that is now part of the sport and it's just words. Control yourself and enjoy the win. Maybe also think about that when you get the urge to troll homeless people and post it on your instagram too.

Edit - I would love to see Khabib put on weight and do this to Colby Covington though

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Interesting that some of those folks seem to forget that the Bus incident was precipitated by a large number of Khabib's crew surrounding one of Conor's guys in a prior incident and going after him.

I was just going to mention this. If I recall, this Khabib-Conor outside of the cage physical stuff all started when Khabib and his posse surrounded Conor teammate Artem Lobov in a hotel hallway and Khabib placed his hands on Lobov, slapped him and essentially threatened him.

Now, Conor is no saint and hopping on a plane to travel across the ocean to confront Khabib (and then throwing a dolly at the bus he believed Khabib was in) was an over the top response.

But let's not pretend like Khabib has not played a very large part in the antics getting to this point.

[PilotMan]

Im so sure that Lobov and co. we're completely innocent prior to that. Fuck that. Fuck them. They've been nothing for pieces of fucking trash since they were drug around by Conor's jock.

[PilotMan]

And.... let's look at history. How many previous fights has Kahbib gotten into trouble with his opponents? How many for Conor? There's a history here, it's not all he should've taken the high road but didn't. Conor could not, will not, ever beat Kahbib in a fight. Ferguson is the only one with a chance, and he would be an underdog.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

You're right. It's a complete disgrace, but I'll be honest, i'm laughing at everyone who thinks Conor is the saint in all this. Conor's camp called one of Kabib's crew a rat fucking terrorist. This is, Conor's chickens coming home to roost.

I believe he actually called him a rat snitch terrorist. And while the double agent/polygraph stuff is questionable, it seems pretty clear he was an FBI/NYPD informant recruited from jail to snitch on Muslim extremists.

I have some sympathy for Khabib on the Kadyrov stuff, because if you're good and from Chechnya of course the dictator wants to associate with you and I imagine it isn't easy to say no, but just because MacGregor is an asshole doesn't mean he's wrong about Abdelaziz.

Either way I have no idea what UFC's security team was doing. It was known those camps are unstable and hate each other, and I can't really blame them for not expecting the winner to jump the ring & fight people, but letting camp members come in the ring & hit a downed fighter is unbelievable.

[BishopMVP]

Oh, and also, credit to MacGregor for not tapping out round 1, but he was dominated that whole fight. Even when Khabib agreed to stand & trade punches it seemed Khabib was better (though at least MacGregor had a puncher's chance at that time.) On the ground it was pure dominance.

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Im so sure that Lobov and co. we're completely innocent prior to that. Fuck that. Fuck them. They've been nothing for pieces of fucking trash since they were drug around by Conor's jock.

The Lobov-Khabib incident stemmed out of an interview that Lobov did where he stated the following (translated);

"Khabib pulled out 6 times already. He always pulls out of fights. If something hurts a little bit, his ass or whatever he pulls out. He can’t even make weight. He doesn’t give a shit about his fans, that everyone flew from Russia. Even getting a visa is a pain and travel expenses…, all in order to see him and he doesn’t show up. And it’s not once. Not two, three or four times.. Who is chicken here? Who is afraid? Conor shows up every time no matter what, he’s a true fighter, he’s a true champion. Champion isn’t just a belt around your waist, it’s mentality, it’s your heart. Conor is a real champion and Khabib is not even close."

I guess whether that warrants gathering a posse up, surrounding the guy while he is alone in a hotel hallway, physically assaulting him and threatening him is a matter of opinion.

My opinion is that Khabib significantly overreacted to those comments and his actions were way out of line. And then Conor went way, way over the top even further to a ridiculous degree.

They are both to blame and Khabib should not get a free pass on this. On top of this, in the press conference he tries to blame it all on Conor, the bus incident, trash talk between the teams (despite being a notorious trash-talker himself in the ring... apparently there are bounds to trash talking and you need to follow Khabib's trash talk rules), etc.

Look in the fucking mirror buddy. Khabib and Khabib alone is responsible for his actions. In fact, almost all of Conor's antics seem to be calculated business decisions aimed at making him richer. Khabib seems to think he's a legitimate gangster (although so does Conor but seemingly only when he knows a camera is on him).

[BYU 14]

And on queue, dipshit Covington weighs in with his best Dudley Boyz promo.

I just keep waiting for The Freebirds to jump into the cage, throw hair cream in Khabib's face, give McGregor a piledriver and run off with the belts. UFC is the new Georgia Championship Wrestling.

Colby Covington on Twitter: ".@TeamKhabib is a #filthyanimal. Way to set the sport back 20 years you stupid sheep fucker #ufc229"

[JonInMiddleGA]

And this is where you end up when you have no adult leadership in an allegedly professional organization.

[cartman]

I wouldn't be surprised if Dana White took a page from wrestling and helped orchestrate all of this. The new UFC owners want a big return on their investment.

[B & B]

Are you not entertained?


Is this not why you are here?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by B & B

Are you not entertained?


Is this not why you are here?

Not with anything related to Conor or anything, anyone who is interested in outside of the cage pro wrestling style bs. Let the fight game on it's own. There shouldn't be any place in sports, this one especially, for that kind of behavior. It's simply not ok.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Not with anything related to Conor or anything, anyone who is interested in outside of the cage pro wrestling style bs. Let the fight game on it's own. There shouldn't be any place in sports, this one especially, for that kind of behavior. It's simply not ok.

This

[Carman Bulldog]

I'm of two minds on this issue. One of those is that the shelf life of fighters is so short that they should be looking to maximize their potential earnings in the limited period of time that they have. If I'm getting paid to get punched in the head, I want to be making as much money as I can at it. Therein lies the incentive to self-promote.

Now one can argue that UFC should have never rewarded these self-promoters and let them talk themselves into fights that they hadn't earned in the first place. But at the end of the day, the UFC is a business predicated on making money.

[bhlloy]

The question is are they making more money by pushing this stuff, or are they just turning off their base? As somebody who originally got into it because it wasn’t a sideshow trainwreck like boxing was becoming and it was something where the best fighters were rewarded with title shots and everything seemed to be above board, it saddens me to see it start to go this way. I haven’t bought a PPV in a long time.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

I'm of two minds on this issue. One of those is that the shelf life of fighters is so short that they should be looking to maximize their potential earnings in the limited period of time that they have. If I'm getting paid to get punched in the head, I want to be making as much money as I can at it. Therein lies the incentive to self-promote.

Now one can argue that UFC should have never rewarded these self-promoters and let them talk themselves into fights that they hadn't earned in the first place. But at the end of the day, the UFC is a business predicated on making money.

If you were good enough, you wouldn't be getting punched in the head. Perhaps it's back to the gym for you then.

[molson]

I'm a couple of days behind, but Lewis/Cormier headlining MSG in 3 weeks for the heavyweight championship. UFC has had a million things fall apart for that show but this came together, probably because neither the UFC nor Cormier (who wants to retire soon) want to wait until February or March for Cormier/Lesnar, neither see lewis as a risk for Cormier.

Insane mismatch on paper but Lewis is just a freak of nature. Best quote I saw on reddit. "If Derick Lewis beats the Double Champ while training 30 mins a few times a week, all martial arts is proven fake. Just swang and bang baby."

I don't know how much of it is a gimmick but Lewis has shown his limitations over and over again. At one point he said, "I don't know how to do takedowns," and his fight performances bear that out. But I also remember a fight where he got up from a bad position on the ground just...kind of by standing up.

I love D.C., but, I can't help but hope for the insane timeline where we get Lewis v. Lesnar or Lewis v. Jones.

[molson]

Also, Yahoo is reporting 2.4 to 2.5 million PPV buys for UFC 229. That's the biggest MMA buyrate of all time, crushing UFC 202 (McGregor/Diaz 2), which had 1.5 million. The only boxing PPVs to do better than UFC 229 are Floyd/Manny and Floyd/McGregor. For context, Woodley/Till at the last PPV did 130,000. So yes, whatever McGregor is doing, sells.