GDT: UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2

MotorMaster

Registered User
Jan 7, 2009
774
21
Earth/cybertron/Char
I think Edgar would be a big test for him. I'm not sure how good his wrestling is.

I also don't think he can stand and trade with McG or Diaz. Once your reach is neutralized, it's a whole different ball game.

I agree, Edgar's wrestling could pose a problem for him plus Edgar doesn't get tired and doesn't just stand there getting picked apart like Aldo...Edgar would be in and out fast the whole fight.

Not saying Edgar would win but it would be interesting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Evil Speaker

m9

m9
Sponsor
Jan 23, 2010
25,107
15,229
Great card.

What else can you say about Max at this point? Just outclassed Aldo, again. I guess Edgar is next but Holloway should be fine.

Ngannou with as scary and violent of a KO as you'll see. Miocic is a better wrestler than people think/know - will be a good fight.

Cejudo did the expected. Boring fight.

Gaethje/Alvarez was a war. Alvarez looked great, though he took a beating.

Some fun undercard fights.

Oh, and tons of bad or boring women's MMA the last two nights.
 

Avs_19

Registered User
Jun 28, 2007
84,521
32,105
This card delivered in a big way. Great fights from start to finish.

Holloway just keeps getting better and better. He took a few big shots, including some leg kicks, like they were nothing and just kept moving forward. He's one of the best strikers in the UFC and it's fun watching him put some of those combinations together. Hopefully we get to see the Frankie fight next.

I'm not really sure what's next for Aldo. I don't believe he's as bad as Holloway made him look. Just once I'd like to see him at 155 where he's not killing himself just to get to the fight. Maybe he's too small or it's too late for that but it's not like there's much for him at 145.

Ngannou is a beast and that was one of the most vicious KOs I've seen. Overeem laid there motionless a lot longer than most fighters. Stipe/Ngannou needs to happen early next year.

Cejudo was dominant but I don't know if that's a performance that gets him another crack at DJ. I think they should go with the Dillashaw fight.

Alvarez/Gaethje lived up to the hype. Great fight. I'd still like to see the Alvarez/Poirier rematch.

Good win for Torres. She should get one of the top contenders next.
 

Zodiac

Registered User
Jul 6, 2003
21,115
646
yeah that KO was probably the worst one i remember seeing. my God ...almost took his head right off.
 

Neutrinos

Registered User
Sep 23, 2016
8,587
3,597
And that was a bit of a late shot after Overeem was already out. I think Overeem should retire he's been KO'd over his career quite a few times.

Yeah, fighters know when they've turned the lights out on someone. Just look at Alvarez's reaction after landing that knee. He put his hands up cause he knew the ground 'n' pound wasn't necessary

I'm cool with never seeing Overeem fight again

And I'll go one further and say Aldo should probably hang 'em up as well. KO'ed in 3 of his last 4. He's never getting another title shot against Holloway, and he's just too small for 155 now that USADA is the new sheriff in town
 

LSCII

Cup driven
Mar 1, 2002
50,474
21,968
Central MA
Yeah, fighters know when they've turned the lights out on someone. Just look at Alvarez's reaction after landing that knee. He put his hands up cause he knew the ground 'n' pound wasn't necessary

I'm cool with never seeing Overeem fight again

And I'll go one further and say Aldo should probably hang 'em up as well. KO'ed in 3 of his last 4. He's never getting another title shot against Holloway, and he's just too small for 155 now that USADA is the new sheriff in town

Said the same thing before the fight and got ripped for it. :laugh:
 

Neutrinos

Registered User
Sep 23, 2016
8,587
3,597
Everyone of Aldo's 11 fights inside the Octagon has been for a title

I'm not privy to the particulars, but if he's not set for life by now, his next fight ought to be with his financial advisors
 
  • Like
Reactions: member 51464

Avs_19

Registered User
Jun 28, 2007
84,521
32,105
Great image.....

DQJn3YJVwAABdBj.jpg
 

Peter Griffin

Registered User
Feb 13, 2003
34,783
7,030
Visit site
This card delivered all around. Alvarez/Gaetjhe was a war as expected, Ngannou had the brutal KO we all knew he was capable of and Holloway continued to show he’s the man now at FW. Add in some other great fights on the undercard and overall it was a very good event.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1specter

m9

m9
Sponsor
Jan 23, 2010
25,107
15,229
Since I didn't really see much on it, here's some thoughts on the TUF Finale:

-Main card took a big hit with Eubanks, who clearly looked the best in the tournament. I don't see the upside at all with Montano, she's a mid-level grinder who will be lucky to stick around the UFC. If you thought the beating Joanna gave Carla Esparza was bad, wait until the next one up takes the 125lb belt. If it's Shevchenko, this is going to get really, really ugly. I thought Modafferi was a weak choice as a replacement anyway - feel like it was more a gift because she's considered nice and a pioneer in the sport.

-Sean O'Malley is an intriguing guy to watch. Extremely skinny but very creative. He looks like a 15 year old kid doing a Jon Jones impersonation. I have no idea how he will hold up against any sort of threat, especially if someone wanted to take him down.. I assume he would be on his back fairly quick, but maybe others have seen his previous fights and can say otherwise. I can say I'll be watching his next fight, but I need to see more here before I get too excited.

-Gerald Meerschaert with a very fun win here - if you are going to watch a fight from this card, it's probably this one. Kind of a meaningless fight between two mid-level guys, but if you like fights finished with nasty body shots then this is worth watching.

-Oh, and you should spare 30 seconds to watch Brett Johns hit that calf slicer on Joe Soto too. Don't see that very often, and that's a good one vs a capable vet.

-Overall the rest of the TUF women are not UFC-calibre. Nice win for Lauren Murphy over Barb Honchak - both of them can probably stick around. I'm sure the UFC is happy Montana De La Rosa & Rachel Ostovich won - two of the better looking female that they can somewhat market. I'm not sure what future Montana has in the sport, but she was the one on the show that came off as the nice/somewhat cute girl that can gain some popularity, similarly to a Rose or Markos from past female seasons.
 

kurt

the last emperor
Sep 11, 2004
8,709
52
Victoria
And that was a bit of a late shot after Overeem was already out. I think Overeem should retire he's been KO'd over his career quite a few times.

Might be a good idea for his long term health, but he's definitely a top of the heap guy in the division still, he's a huge draw, and would leave a lot of money on the table. If he's feeling fine and doctors seem to feel ok about it, I don't blame him for carrying on.
 

m9

m9
Sponsor
Jan 23, 2010
25,107
15,229
Yeah, fighters know when they've turned the lights out on someone. Just look at Alvarez's reaction after landing that knee. He put his hands up cause he knew the ground 'n' pound wasn't necessary

I'm cool with never seeing Overeem fight again

And I'll go one further and say Aldo should probably hang 'em up as well. KO'ed in 3 of his last 4. He's never getting another title shot against Holloway, and he's just too small for 155 now that USADA is the new sheriff in town

Said the same thing before the fight and got ripped for it. :laugh:

Going by the Aldo standard of being knocked out 3 of his last 4, you probably would have been "cool with never seeing Overeem fight again" around his Kharitonov or Shogun fights. He had taken a ton of damage at that point of his career, was a HW, and had a couple of bad knockouts.

That Kharitonov fight was 10 years ago, he was undefeated in about a dozen fights in a row soon after, fought for the HW title, and made millions of dollars.

This short-term mindset around here of the last few fights is just over the top. These guys are still extremely competitive at the highest level. The health risks are obviously there, but they've made a choice..I don't know why others are so eager to make the choice for them.
 

LSCII

Cup driven
Mar 1, 2002
50,474
21,968
Central MA
Going by the Aldo standard of being knocked out 3 of his last 4, you probably would have been "cool with never seeing Overeem fight again" around his Kharitonov or Shogun fights. He had taken a ton of damage at that point of his career, was a HW, and had a couple of bad knockouts.

That Kharitonov fight was 10 years ago, he was undefeated in about a dozen fights in a row soon after, fought for the HW title, and made millions of dollars.

This short-term mindset around here of the last few fights is just over the top. These guys are still extremely competitive at the highest level. The health risks are obviously there, but they've made a choice..I don't know why others are so eager to make the choice for them.

It's not really short term mindset as seeing the pattern. I've been saying since Aldo fought Mendes the second time that his chin looked more questionable than it used to. Watching a guy known for wrestling trade hands and drop Aldo several times in that fight told me something had changed. Then McGregor eviscerated him with literally one punch, and Max tuned him up not once but twice. The pattern is that he simply cannot take big shots any longer. Whether that's from cumulative effects of all the wars he's been in or because he's older now, I couldn't tell you. But it's definitely something that's been noticeable in his more recent fights.
 

m9

m9
Sponsor
Jan 23, 2010
25,107
15,229
It's not really short term mindset as seeing the pattern. I've been saying since Aldo fought Mendes the second time that his chin looked more questionable than it used to. Watching a guy known for wrestling trade hands and drop Aldo several times in that fight told me something had changed. Then McGregor eviscerated him with literally one punch, and Max tuned him up not once but twice. The pattern is that he simply cannot take big shots any longer. Whether that's from cumulative effects of all the wars he's been in or because he's older now, I couldn't tell you. But it's definitely something that's been noticeable in his more recent fights.

It's hard when it's guys at the very top - Aldo has definitely fallen a couple notches, but he's a high-level guy. This would be strictly a matter of health, as he can still compete at the top of the division.

What about Eddie Alvarez? Should he retire?

I don't really have a good answer either, I just find it very arbitrary when people deem it time for guys to retire. Is it damage? Is it knockouts? Is it how good they are?

What if guys took longer breaks after a rough KO, would that help?
 

LSCII

Cup driven
Mar 1, 2002
50,474
21,968
Central MA
It's hard when it's guys at the very top - Aldo has definitely fallen a couple notches, but he's a high-level guy. This would be strictly a matter of health, as he can still compete at the top of the division.

What about Eddie Alvarez? Should he retire?

I don't really have a good answer either, I just find it very arbitrary when people deem it time for guys to retire. Is it damage? Is it knockouts? Is it how good they are?

What if guys took longer breaks after a rough KO, would that help?

I think that would. I'd also say they should institute long term neurological monitoring for athletes in combat sports. That way, if some kind of damage shows up after a bad knock out, they can get out ahead of it instead of well after the fact.

And I get what you're saying about Aldo losing to the best of the best, but how he can easily compete with the guys a notch below. He can, clearly. It's just that if you're not going to be on top of the mountain, what's the point? Especially for a guy like Aldo who was.
 

m9

m9
Sponsor
Jan 23, 2010
25,107
15,229
I think that would. I'd also say they should institute long term neurological monitoring for athletes in combat sports. That way, if some kind of damage shows up after a bad knock out, they can get out ahead of it instead of well after the fact.

And I get what you're saying about Aldo losing to the best of the best, but how he can easily compete with the guys a notch below. He can, clearly. It's just that if you're not going to be on top of the mountain, what's the point? Especially for a guy like Aldo who was.

"The point" would be to make money and compete, the same thing most guys do.

Holloway clearly struggles to make 145 and is very young, it wouldn't be crazy to see him move to 155 in the next couple of years. Who knows where Aldo will be in a couple years, but the next handful of guys are veterans that aren't getting any younger either.

Do you think Aldo ever fights for a UFC title again?
 

LSCII

Cup driven
Mar 1, 2002
50,474
21,968
Central MA
"The point" would be to make money and compete, the same thing most guys do.

Holloway clearly struggles to make 145 and is very young, it wouldn't be crazy to see him move to 155 in the next couple of years. Who knows where Aldo will be in a couple years, but the next handful of guys are veterans that aren't getting any younger either.

Do you think Aldo ever fights for a UFC title again?

Do I think so? Yeah probably. I don't think he'd be the guy they booked originally since he's not a huge draw, but I can certainly see them going to him in a fill in situation similar to what happened here with the second Max fight. Maybe Holloway moves up and opens the door, but Aldo himself struggled to make weight this fight. Whether that was due to short notice or not, he doesn't have the luxury of moving up like Holloway. His chin would look even more suspect up a weight class, imo. I guess the only certainty is that Aldo will likely not retire. Sucks to watch given how dominant he was for so long. Kind of like watching Fedor now.
 

Peter Griffin

Registered User
Feb 13, 2003
34,783
7,030
Visit site
It's not really short term mindset as seeing the pattern. I've been saying since Aldo fought Mendes the second time that his chin looked more questionable than it used to. Watching a guy known for wrestling trade hands and drop Aldo several times in that fight told me something had changed. Then McGregor eviscerated him with literally one punch, and Max tuned him up not once but twice. The pattern is that he simply cannot take big shots any longer.

Not sure what fights you were watching but its not as if Max KO’ed Aldo with one big shot or something. In fact Aldo took a lot of punishment in his two fights against Holloway before the ref finally called it off. To me that says more about Max’s abilities and perhaps Aldo slowing down rather than Aldo having a questionable chin.
 

kurt

the last emperor
Sep 11, 2004
8,709
52
Victoria
Everyone slows down eventually. What an incredibly dominant run Aldo had. I hope to see both Aldo and Overeem again, hopefully in the win column against some manageable top 10 guys.
 

m9

m9
Sponsor
Jan 23, 2010
25,107
15,229
Do I think so? Yeah probably. I don't think he'd be the guy they booked originally since he's not a huge draw, but I can certainly see them going to him in a fill in situation similar to what happened here with the second Max fight. Maybe Holloway moves up and opens the door, but Aldo himself struggled to make weight this fight. Whether that was due to short notice or not, he doesn't have the luxury of moving up like Holloway. His chin would look even more suspect up a weight class, imo. I guess the only certainty is that Aldo will likely not retire. Sucks to watch given how dominant he was for so long. Kind of like watching Fedor now.

It's very similar to Fedor after he lost to Henderson/Silva/Werdum. Aldo should probably take a note from that and dial back the competition a bit. I guess that was kind of the plan already, the Lamas fight would have been an easier one.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->