Official UFC Thread - Part 8

[Lobo]

So what is going on? My news feed shows Colby calling out LeBron James

 

[TheGuy]

So what is going on? My news feed shows Colby calling out LeBron James

Something about BLM and all that. Woodley is a vocal advocate. Colby is basically saying **** BLM and "woke athletes" like LeBron.

 

[Doc Samson]

Lost all sorts of money on Costa. Wtf was that??

Israel is obviously extremely talented, but how are you gonna huff and puff and then get in there with him looking timid. Literally the only chance Costa had was to apply pressure, I saw Kelvin do it with some success and figured Paulo would be better at it. The guy looked almost scared to try it. Costa of all people??? Yikes

 

[famicommander]

Holly Holm doesn't get enough respect.

She completely dominated last night. In her last 2 fights she has won all 8 rounds against two opponents ranked in the top 6 of the bantamweight division. It's true that the Pennington fight was boring, but Holly still completely outclassed her. And last night was anything but boring, with Holm setting a career high in both strikes landed and successful takedowns.

Holm deserves a rematch with Germaine de Randamie. In the first fight Holly got robbed straight up on the scorecards, as most outlets scored it 3 rounds to 2 for Holm. But worse than that, Germaine landed not one but TWO multi-punch combinations after the bell in that fight but wasn't deducted a point.

If there were any justice in combat sports she'd be known as a 2 division UFC champion to go along with being a 3 division world boxing champion and a former pro kickboxer.

 

[killface]

Glad to see T-City is back. Looking forward to his matchup with Volkanovksi

 

[Lobo]

Who's looking forward to tomorrow's card?

 

[Doc Samson]

Me lol. Well, maybe not the whole card (outside of Whittaker/Jared), but obviously Khabib and Justin is very interesting.

I'm on record, I think Justin has maybe the best hands in the sport right now. And his wrestling should help him stuff a few takedowns, hopefully. But if he winds up against the cage, as most Khabib opponents do, he'll be dead in the water. Very excited to see how it plays out!

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Khabib dusted Gaethje like he didn't even exist. That was incredibly embarrassing. Khabib would have done the same to Ferguson. None of these guys are in his league. Khabib retires at 29-0. The P4P king, and Khabib is top 3 all time imo. I can't believe he did that after all he has gone through this year.

 

[TheGuy]

Khabib even murked Justin on the feet. Lol. No way with Tony's abysmal standup will he beat him. Flawless performance. Wow.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Khabib even murked Justin on the feet. Lol. No way with Tony's abysmal standup will he beat him. Flawless performance. Wow.

When Gaethje started backing up, all I could think was, "oh it really is over".

Gaethje would probably do better against Conor, because Conor isn't going to put him on his back and make him look a fish out of water, but Jesus, that was embarrassing.

 

[Iceman]

Just heard about Khabib’s retirement. His career has been a great achievement. I would have liked to see him against Ferguson in a last fight though. Khabib has seemed unbeatable for a fair while.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Just heard about Khabib’s retirement. His career has been a great achievement. I would have liked to see him against Ferguson in a last fight though. Khabib has seemed unbeatable for a fair while.

I still hope that his mom tells him to go for 30-0 and he fights GSP in that super fight.

 

[Iceman]

I still hope that his mom tells him to go for 30-0 and he fights GSP in that super fight.

That would be even better!

 

[TheGuy]

Jon Jones a piece of **** as usual. You're not the P4P #1 since the Santos fight.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Jon Jones a piece of **** as usual. You're not the P4P #1 since the Santos fight.

Maybe he heard PED4P #1 by mistake? Probably because he was too business doing a line of cocaine off his suitcase full of money and guns. Well that, or maybe his dick pill kicked in.

 

[Doc Samson]

Nothing but respect to Khabib, well deserved brother.

 

[B]

Fantastic performance from Khabib, arguably the best of his career in the UFC IMO considering how he made a tough, well skilled fighter look like a novice.

The biggest difference for Gaethje in this fight, in comparison to the Ferguson fight given that Tony also likes to bring pressure is that early on in that bout, Gaethje tagged Ferguson a few times that immediately got his attention & forced him to respect his power. He didn't do that against Khabib, in fact I'm actually shocked how poor Gaethje's striking looked tonight, he looked like the old Gaethje that got dusted by Alvarez & Poirier when he started throwing wild & reckless looping punches. I was expecting him to be much more calculated & precise with his strikes like he was in his last fight.

Khabib just mounted constant pressure just popping his jab out which seemed more designed to bait Gaethje into overreacting, which he did. Once he got him in the full mount, I knew it was over as there's no way a guy with the grappling level Khabib has get full mount.. especially when he had I think it was like 3 minutes left to work.

It's a shame he's retiring but he's the type that I would believe if he gave his word to his mother of all people, he'll never go back on it. As a fight fan it's a crime that he & Tony Ferguson never met in the cage.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Fantastic performance from Khabib, arguably the best of his career in the UFC IMO considering how he made a tough, well skilled fighter look like a novice.

The biggest difference for Gaethje in this fight, in comparison to the Ferguson fight given that Tony also likes to bring pressure is that early on in that bout, Gaethje tagged Ferguson a few times that immediately got his attention & forced him to respect his power. He didn't do that against Khabib, in fact I'm actually shocked how poor Gaethje's striking looked tonight, he looked like the old Gaethje that got dusted by Alvarez & Poirier when he started throwing wild & reckless looping punches. I was expecting him to be much more calculated & precise with his strikes like he was in his last fight.

Khabib just mounted constant pressure just popping his jab out which seemed more designed to bait Gaethje into overreacting, which he did. Once he got him in the full mount, I knew it was over as there's no way a guy with the grappling level Khabib has get full mount.. especially when he had I think it was like 3 minutes left to work.

It's a shame he's retiring but he's the type that I would believe if he gave his word to his mother of all people, he'll never go back on it. As a fight fan it's a crime that he & Tony Ferguson never met in the cage.

The big difference imo, is Khabib can grapple in a way no one else can. Gaethje feared the TD, because he doesn't even have a white belt off his back. Once Khabib got a hold of him, it was over and he knew it. This threat makes a striker like Gaethje hesitant and ultimate incapable of using their striking to keep a guy like Khabib off them.

My only regret about no Tony fight, is I didn't get to see Khabib destroy Tony.

 

[B]

The big difference imo, is Khabib can grapple in a way no one else can. Gaethje feared the TD, because he doesn't even have a white belt off his back. Once Khabib got a hold of him, it was over and he knew it. This threat makes a striker like Gaethje hesitant and ultimate incapable of using their striking to keep a guy like Khabib off them.

My only regret about no Tony fight, is I didn't get to see Khabib destroy Tony.

I don't think he feared the takedown anymore than Khabib would have feared getting clipped, it comes as part of the fight. I'd say you would have a point if he Gaethje wasn't throwing his usual battery of low kicks for fear of Khabib snagging a leg but he threw half a dozen.

We'll never know, we've had this discussion before though, stylistically Ferguson is/was the worst possible fight in the division for Khabib because he's a legit black belt under Eddie Bravo & he's extremely good at fighting off his back, which is where Khabib likes to put his opponents. Ferguson's highlights of his career is literally him submitting & busting guys up with elbows from that nasty rubber guard + he's a stronger striker.

Styles make for good fights & the way the pair of them fight it had the potential to be an epic contest. Those 2 not fighting, considering a few years ago at one point Ferguson was on a 12 fight win streak in the UFC & Khabib was on a 9 fight win streak (in the UFC) is a crime. It probably ranks for me with GSP/Silva not fighting or Silva/Jones before all his bull****.

 

[B]

As I was writing that reply I was amusing myself reading Gaethje fans crying, what's this stuff about Khabib's weight yesterday?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I don't think he feared the takedown anymore than Khabib would have feared getting clipped, it comes as part of the fight. I'd say you would have a point if he Gaethje wasn't throwing his usual battery of low kicks for fear of Khabib snagging a leg but he threw half a dozen.

We'll never know, we've had this discussion before though, stylistically Ferguson is/was the worst possible fight in the division for Khabib because he's a legit black belt under Eddie Bravo & he's extremely good at fighting off his back, which is where Khabib likes to put his opponents. Ferguson's highlights of his career is literally him submitting & busting guys up with elbows from that nasty rubber guard + he's a stronger striker.

Styles make for good fights & the way the pair of them fight it had the potential to be an epic contest. Those 2 not fighting, considering a few years ago at one point Ferguson was on a 12 fight win streak in the UFC & Khabib was on a 9 fight win streak (in the UFC) is a crime. It probably ranks for me with GSP/Silva not fighting or Silva/Jones before all his bull****.

That's just not true. Khabib can take a punch. Khabib is the guy who stands with people with legit power, because he feels like doing it. Gaethje was arguably gassed out winging 30 seconds in, because he didn't come out there with the mindset Khabib has. Khabib legit doesn't fear anything. That's not how Gaethje fought, nor was his apparent adrenaline dump a sign of some nerves of steel.

Ferguson has never been and will never be style issue for Khabib imo. It's a myth born from Tony having a big mouth and BS win streak, that is inflated and not exactly a murder's row. It's no different then people trying to push that Gaethje was a stylistic issue for Khabib because he kicked Tyon's ass, and wrestled some D1. Tony can grapple. Okay. Khabib is a much better grappler, and does everything else better. Who of Khabib's level did Ferguson beat up from his back exactly? Also Khabib takes the back and mount at will. Can't throw elbows at him from there, or when he's twisting your arm off or strangling you. It would have looked like a worse version of Big Nog vs. Fedor, with the difference being that Tony is no Big Nog and thus would have ended up finished. Seeing it after Gaethje literally beat Tony into submission would have been nonsensical. I will give Tony this though, he was m ore deserving of the fight then Jorge's title shot.

Stylistically the only guy who could be an issue is GSP, and no one else is GSP, just like no one else is Khabib.

 

[Erik20]

I still hope that his mom tells him to go for 30-0 and he fights GSP in that super fight.

It's probably a cultural thing, but it seems kind of wrong to ask your son to give up his career... (unless Khabib also wanted to quit on his own anyway)

 

[DarthSkywalker]

It's probably a cultural thing, but it seems kind of wrong to ask your son to give up his career... (unless Khabib also wanted to quit on his own anyway)

It's definitely a culture thing with Khabib. For his own personal peace of mind, honoring his parents is what is most important to him.

 

[killface]

It speaks to the greatness of Khabib that he made the lightweight division look like trash. Sadly, I was late to the Khabib appreciation wagon. At least, I got to appreciate his greatness before he walked away from the game.

I'd put him in my all time top 3, next to Silva and GSP.

 

[B]

That's just not true. Khabib can take a punch. Khabib is the guy who stands with people with legit power, because he feels like doing it. Gaethje was arguably gassed out winging 30 seconds in, because he didn't come out there with the mindset Khabib has. Khabib legit doesn't fear anything. That's not how Gaethje fought, nor was his apparent adrenaline dump a sign of some nerves of steel.

Ferguson has never been and will never be style issue for Khabib imo. It's a myth born from Tony having a big mouth and BS win streak, that is inflated and not exactly a murder's row. It's no different then people trying to push that Gaethje was a stylistic issue for Khabib because he kicked Tyon's ass, and wrestled some D1. Tony can grapple. Okay. Khabib is a much better grappler, and does everything else better. Who of Khabib's level did Ferguson beat up from his back exactly? Also Khabib takes the back and mount at will. Can't throw elbows at him from there, or when he's twisting your arm off or strangling you. It would have looked like a worse version of Big Nog vs. Fedor, with the difference being that Tony is no Big Nog and thus would have ended up finished. Seeing it after Gaethje literally beat Tony into submission would have been nonsensical. I will give Tony this though, he was m ore deserving of the fight then Jorge's title shot.

Stylistically the only guy who could be an issue is GSP, and no one else is GSP, just like no one else is Khabib.

I didn't say he couldn't take a punch? However that being said, I can't actually remember him ever taking any significant power shots in his UFC career as he usually has his opponent on the deck before the can do anything. Hardest I can recall him being hit was by Michael Johnson, however I think those were partially blocked if I remember correctly.

Inflated & BS win streak? I get it, you're a BIG Khabib fan, but come on. The pair of them have both fought 4 or 5 of the same fighters during their UFC stint as well which makes your claim even more outlandish.

The rest of that middle paragraph reads like something you'd see on the Sherdog forums. Ferguson's never beat anybody like Khabib & Khabib's has never beat anybody like Ferguson.

GSP's too old, he's near 40. I hope he doesn't come out of retirement again, he might have beat Bisping to win the MW title, but in his prime he'd have ran through Bisping.