OT: General UFC/MMA/Boxing discussion IX

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[Pompeius Magnus]

Ex-UFC champ Eddie Alvarez signs with ONE Championship
That's a pretty big coup for ONE, Alvarez can still fight and he's not quite over the hill yet .I was convinced he's go to Bellator. KSW could start signing some ex UFC guys as well before too long.

 

[pistolpete11]

From the previous thread:

@DangerDave, there have been a ton of rumors about GSP fighting again. Sure, they could be media driven, but I totally believe he wants to fight again...IF, and only IF, he can find the perfect matchup that would further his 'legacy' and be a fight he has a very good chance at winning. Much like the Bisping fight. If Conor won, I think we absolutely would have seen Conor-GSP. Beating Conor (if he had beat Khabib) is arguably the biggest win he could get in today's UFC and he'd be the first to hold a belt in 3 different weight classes. I also think GSP would be extremely confident in beating Conor because of his wrestling and his striking is better than Khabib. So it checks all the boxes for GSP. Legacy, likely win, and huge payday.

(I know Dana said he wouldn't let GSP fight for the 155lb belt because he would likely vacate, but that fight would have been too huge to not make).

 

[pistolpete11]

Ex-UFC champ Eddie Alvarez signs with ONE Championship
That's a pretty big coup for ONE, Alvarez can still fight and he's not quite over the hill yet .I was convinced he's go to Bellator. KSW could start signing some ex UFC guys as well before too long.

I know ONE is huge in Asia, but are there any other notable fighters there besides Ben Askren?

I thought he was going to go to Bellator, too. Maybe he wants to add another organizations championship to his resume.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I know ONE is huge in Asia, but are there any other notable fighters there besides Ben Askren?

I thought he was going to go to Bellator, too. Maybe he wants to add another organizations championship to his resume.

Bibiano Fernandes is real good( although he's getting up there in age), he's mostly fought in Japan though so more casual fans probably don't know him. Martin Nguyen is good too. A lot of their stuff is on the fight network so I always end up catching some of it every week. The caliber is quite good.

 

[Kriss E]

From the previous thread:

@DangerDave, there have been a ton of rumors about GSP fighting again. Sure, they could be media driven, but I totally believe he wants to fight again...IF, and only IF, he can find the perfect matchup that would further his 'legacy' and be a fight he has a very good chance at winning. Much like the Bisping fight. If Conor won, I think we absolutely would have seen Conor-GSP. Beating Conor (if he had beat Khabib) is arguably the biggest win he could get in today's UFC and he'd be the first to hold a belt in 3 different weight classes. I also think GSP would be extremely confident in beating Conor because of his wrestling and his striking is better than Khabib. So it checks all the boxes for GSP. Legacy, likely win, and huge payday.

(I know Dana said he wouldn't let GSP fight for the 155lb belt because he would likely vacate, but that fight would have been too huge to not make).

There is no way GSP would fight as lightweight either. GSP is a big shredded WW. The guy can fight as a MW, I can't imagine him at 155. He would have to lose a significant amount of muscle, dont think he'd want that.

 

[Kriss E]

Ex-UFC champ Eddie Alvarez signs with ONE Championship
That's a pretty big coup for One, Alvarez can still fight and he's not quite over the hill yet .I was convinced he's go to Bellator. KSW could start signing some ex UFC guys as well before too long.

Maybe he's just after a belt..

That said, Khabib vs Conor was the biggest PPV on record with 2.4M, before that they weren't able to even break the 400K buys in 2018.
2016 was a good year for them, but since then, they haven't been doing all that well.
The UFC as a company had a record year in 2017 but that was only thanks to the money they got from the CM vs FMJ fight, a boxing event.

I don't think they are in any danger but they really could improve their game.

 

[Mike Mike Caron]

I know ONE is huge in Asia, but are there any other notable fighters there besides Ben Askren?

I thought he was going to go to Bellator, too. Maybe he wants to add another organizations championship to his resume.

Askren isn't fighting anymore, it's been a while. He said he'd come out of semi-retirement for a super fight.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Khabib is getting Ferguson next and then he's probably gone. That's what I'd do if I were him, there's no better way to stick it to Dana than to deny him of a Conor rematch.

 

[Habs]

More cringeworthy fake fight theatrics if they do a CM/Khabib rematch.

 

[Kriss E]

Khabib is getting Ferguson next and then he's probably gone. That's what I'd do if I were him, there's no better way to stick it to Dana than to deny him of a Conor rematch.

If he wants to stick to Dana and doesn't care about money then he can just quit now.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

If he wants to stick to Dana and doesn't care about money then he can just quit now.

He could do that too, him leaving right now wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

 

[pistolpete11]

There is no way GSP would fight as lightweight either. GSP is a big shredded WW. The guy can fight as a MW, I can't imagine him at 155. He would have to lose a significant amount of muscle, dont think he'd want that.

That is the big rumor. GSP was on Ariel's show just yesterday talking about fighting Khabib. He said he thinks he could make 155lb, but he doesn't think the UFC will offer him the fight because they're afraid he would win and vacate again.

Maybe he's just after a belt..

That said, Khabib vs Conor was the biggest PPV on record with 2.4M, before that they weren't able to even break the 400K buys in 2018.
2016 was a good year for them, but since then, they haven't been doing all that well.
The UFC as a company had a record year in 2017 but that was only thanks to the money they got from the CM vs FMJ fight, a boxing event.

I don't think they are in any danger but they really could improve their game.

I think ESPN will provide some boost. At least initially.

 

[pistolpete11]

Askren isn't fighting anymore, it's been a while. He said he'd come out of semi-retirement for a super fight.

Yeah, I think he wants to fight GSP, but I think he's still under contract with ONE. He's only 34, though. He wouldn't be the first fighter to "retire" and then come back.

Edit: He fought last in November 2017. So not THAT long ago.

Khabib is getting Ferguson next and then he's probably gone. That's what I'd do if I were him, there's no better way to stick it to Dana than to deny him of a Conor rematch.

I will be severely disappointed if we never get to see Khabib-Tony.

I don't know that he wants to stick it to Dana as much as Conor. Not ever giving Conor a rematch would probably drive Conor more crazy than if he beat him again.

 

[pistolpete11]

Rumor says Khabib turned down $15M offer for the Conor rematch. Wants Tony.

 

[Mike Mike Caron]

Yeah, I think he wants to fight GSP, but I think he's still under contract with ONE. He's only 34, though. He wouldn't be the first fighter to "retire" and then come back.

Edit: He fought last in November 2017. So not THAT long ago.


I will be severely disappointed if we never get to see Khabib-Tony.

I don't know that he wants to stick it to Dana as much as Conor. Not ever giving Conor a rematch would probably drive Conor more crazy than if he beat him again.

He's semi retired though. I'd like to see Khabib vs Askren, I would like this a lot

 

[pistolpete11]

He's semi retired though. I'd like to see Khabib vs Askren, I would like this a lot

Semi-retired doesn't mean anything, though. He can hold out for a super fight if he wants, but that's only going to happen if someone can get out of their contract.

Askren vs. Khabib
Askren vs. GSP
Askren vs. Woodley (which likely wouldn't happen because they are friends and teammates)

All of those would be interesting fights. Askren vs. Woodley would have the potential to be boring since Woodley would be so cautious so to not get taken down. But it would still be arguably the 2 best current WW in the world.

 

[Kriss E]

That is the big rumor. GSP was on Ariel's show just yesterday talking about fighting Khabib. He said he thinks he could make 155lb, but he doesn't think the UFC will offer him the fight because they're afraid he would win and vacate again.


I think ESPN will provide some boost. At least initially.

I don't see how GSP could drop to 155 without damaging his body. That would be a big mistake imo.
A catch weight, perhaps.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I don't see how GSP could drop to 155 without damaging his body. That would be a big mistake imo.
A catch weight, perhaps.

There's certainly not a lot of precedent of guys in their late thirties fighting 20 pounds lighter than they've ever fought before. It's pretty rare. Rashad Evans maybe ? Gilbert Melendez ? They both sucked at the lower class too.

 

[Kriss E]

Rumor says Khabib turned down $15M offer for the Conor rematch. Wants Tony.

Khabib doesn't seem to be a money guy. He even stated they can keep the purse they're holding from the CM fight, what he cared about was restoring his honor and he feels he did that.
So if money isn't going to motivate him, fighting CM makes no sense. He completely owned him, there's no reason to give him a rematch.
Honestly, not even sure why CM wants a rematch right away. The guy hadn't fought in MMA in almost two years. FMJ was a show fight where Floyd let him last as long as he did. He comes back, Khabib owns him. Maybe he should take on a lesser opponent. Fight Pettis, sharpen up your tools, then get a rematch.

 

[Kriss E]

There's certainly not a lot of precedent of guys in their late thirties fighting 20 pounds lighter than they've ever fought before. It's pretty rare. Rashad Evans maybe ? Gilbert Melendez ? They both sucked at the lower class too.

I'm very surprised GSP would be interested. He's usually pretty smart about his fights and body.
He would lose a lot of the power and strength that gives him an advantage in WW.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I'm very surprised GSP would be interested. He's usually pretty smart about his fights and body.
He would lose a lot of the power and strength that gives him an advantage in WW.

GSP's the most calculated fighter in all of MMA, if he thinks he can do it, he can imo.

 

[Kriss E]

GSP's the most calculated fighter in all of MMA, if he thinks he can do it, he can imo.

And as Serra proved, GSP can make a mistake. So physically speaking, I don't see how he can do this. He used to train where I worked, he's a big guy. There is no way he cuts down to 155 and is in good shape unless the UFC gives him like a year or two to prepare.

 

[pistolpete11]

I don't see how GSP could drop to 155 without damaging his body. That would be a big mistake imo.
A catch weight, perhaps.

I don't think he's quite as big as you're thinking he is. According to him, he actually hurt his body by putting on weight to move up to 185.

He says he's 183lb right now. Getting down to 155lb wouldn't be that unusual, especially if he has some time to plan it out. I think Khabib walks around at 180lb+. Back when he was missing weight, I heard that he was walking around at 200, but he still got close. Conor doesn't look out of place at 170 and he fought at 145. Holloway supposedly walks around at 180+ and he fights at 145. Rumble used to make 170. DC weighed 243 against Stipe, but was getting down to 205 for a good portion of his career. Till, Romero, etc. I'm not saying it would be easy for him. There's a reason he fought most of his career at 170, but it's possible. And we aren't talking about a permanent move. It would most certainly be a one-and-done type of situation.

There's certainly not a lot of precedent of guys in their late thirties fighting 20 pounds lighter than they've ever fought before. It's pretty rare. Rashad Evans maybe ? Gilbert Melendez ? They both sucked at the lower class too.

BJ Penn comes to mind. Fought as high as 185 and now fights at 145.

GSP's the most calculated fighter in all of MMA, if he thinks he can do it, he can imo.

Exactly. There was even rumors he was doing a 'test cut' not that long ago to see if he could do it. If true, and he still says he can do it, then I think it's pretty likely he can do it.

 

[jackeymoon]

Ferguson
Lee
GSP
Woodley
Covington

Only guys who can realistically beat Khabibi