MMA General Discussion and Fight Announcements 7.0

[Neutrinos]

I said based on their histories.

But I'm not going to doubt Conor until he gives me a reason to. He hasn't yet. He's showed up to fight...Every. Single. Time.

He hasn't fought for the UFC in 636 days and counting

That's a pretty good reason to doubt him

 

[pistolpete11]

He hasn't fought for the UFC in 636 days and counting

That's a pretty good reason to doubt him

Not fighting and not fighting after you sign a fight contract are 2 very different things.

I think you know that.

 

[member 51464]

Does anyone know if khabib has added or changed any coaches that could help him more with his standup?

If I recall, his dad is his main coach, right? I just keep thinking back to the one time he was thumped by, I believe, Michael Johnson. I can't help but think Conor might have put him out.

I hate when atheletes let family ties cap their upside.

I'm rooting for Khabib, but that is my biggest concern going in.

 

[tmurfin]

Does anyone know if khabib has added or changed any coaches that could help him more with his standup?

If I recall, his dad is his main coach, right? I just keep thinking back to the one time he was thumped by, I believe, Michael Johnson. I can't help but think Conor might have put him out.

I hate when atheletes let family ties cap their upside.

I'm rooting for Khabib, but that is my biggest concern going in.

He is still training at AKA, but his standup is still very basic with tons of holes. I think he gets slept as well. And I'm no Conor fanboy, I want Khabib to win.

Touching on your second part with families, I agree. It happens far too often, look at Sage Northcutt, gets in with Tristar, having a mastermind like Zahabi would've done wonders, but his daddy pulled him because they were "working him too hard". Such a shame.

This is why GSP is and will always be THE champion to emulate. He was always evolving and constantly flying in world class talent to teach him, every camp whether it be world class Russian wrestlers, or top level Muay Thai fighters straight from Thailand, or hiring Freddie Roach, constantly working to be the best, never relying on his one weapon. And there was never any issues with Firas/Tristar.

 

[MaxV]

BTW, I can definitely see a scenario where, if he wins, Khabib moves up.

 

[LSCII]

Does anyone know if khabib has added or changed any coaches that could help him more with his standup?

If I recall, his dad is his main coach, right? I just keep thinking back to the one time he was thumped by, I believe, Michael Johnson. I can't help but think Conor might have put him out.

I hate when atheletes let family ties cap their upside.

I'm rooting for Khabib, but that is my biggest concern going in.

You could easily make the opposite argument though. Khabib has had incredible success under the direction of his father. Changing things now, when he's never lost a fight, would be crazy. Sure, adding a coach to round out the game is a good move, but not at the detriment of what's gotten you to this level. He could improve his striking, but really, what would that change? His game is samba and he's elite at it. It's not like he's going to suddenly eschew the ground game for stand up.

 

[member 51464]

You could easily make the opposite argument though. Khabib has had incredible success under the direction of his father. Changing things now, when he's never lost a fight, would be crazy. Sure, adding a coach to round out the game is a good move, but not at the detriment of what's gotten you to this level. He could improve his striking, but really, what would that change? His game is samba and he's elite at it. It's not like he's going to suddenly eschew the ground game for stand up.

The best time to fix a leaky roof is when the sun is shining.

 

[pistolpete11]

Does anyone know if khabib has added or changed any coaches that could help him more with his standup?

If I recall, his dad is his main coach, right? I just keep thinking back to the one time he was thumped by, I believe, Michael Johnson. I can't help but think Conor might have put him out.

I hate when atheletes let family ties cap their upside.

I'm rooting for Khabib, but that is my biggest concern going in.

For this fight, does it matter? His stand up is so far behind Conor that there's no way he will be able to improve it enough to make much of a difference. He will win or lose based on whether he can avoid Conor's left hand on his takedown attempts.

 

[LSCII]

For this fight, does it matter? His stand up is so far behind Conor that there's no way he will be able to improve it enough to make much of a difference. He will win or lose based on whether he can avoid Conor's left hand on his takedown attempts.

Exactly.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Conor's probably also been working and training for this fight for far longer than three months.

 

[LSCII]

Conor's probably also been working and training for this fight for far longer than three months.

There's no question about that. I'm also very interested to see if his striking got even stronger due to his focus only on boxing for the Mayweather fight.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

I think Conor wins. He’ll let Khabib get a bit tired and then get real aggressive. Kind of what Floyd did to him.

 

[MaxV]

You could easily make the opposite argument though. Khabib has had incredible success under the direction of his father. Changing things now, when he's never lost a fight, would be crazy. Sure, adding a coach to round out the game is a good move, but not at the detriment of what's gotten you to this level. He could improve his striking, but really, what would that change? His game is samba and he's elite at it. It's not like he's going to suddenly eschew the ground game for stand up.

Khabib’s father has a great mind for MMA, but he doesn’t have anywhere near the resources that these top tier camps offer.

These camps have it broken down to a science and they constantly research ways to gain an edge. Top coaches from around the world often stop by and train.

MMA is still a young sport and there are still things to discover imo. Just look at what happened in Oleinik-Pesta fight. Talk about discovering new territory.

Also, Ben Askren, who seems to know a thing or 2 about it, has mentioned that there are elements in folkstyle wrestling that are overlooked in MMA.

 

[Avs_19]

UFC 229 seems to be taking shape like this.....

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor
Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominick Reyes
Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga
Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig
Sean O'Malley vs. José Alberto Quiñónez

The top two fights are confirmed as the main and co-main events. I doubt any other big fights will get announced so 3 of the other 4 will likely fill out the PPV card. Looks pretty good to me.

 

[MaxV]

Lewis-Volkov is an interesting fight also. I would say that Lewis is the favorite, but Volkov has proven people wrong before.

I would imagine that the winner gets a title shot next, probably after Lesnar.

 

[pistolpete11]

UFC 229 seems to be taking shape like this.....

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor
Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominick Reyes
Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga
Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig
Sean O'Malley vs. José Alberto Quiñónez

The top two fights are confirmed as the main and co-main events. I doubt any other big fights will get announced so 3 of the other 4 will likely fill out the PPV card. Looks pretty good to me.

Yeah, not bad. My bet is Pettis/Formiga gets bumped. Despite the DJ/Cejudo fight, still nobody really cares about 125lbs division. O'Malley is a star in the making and it would be so stupid to not have him on the main card with Conor. And people like Waterson. I wonder why...

Lewis-Volkov is an interesting fight also. I would say that Lewis is the favorite, but Volkov has proven people wrong before.

I would imagine that the winner gets a title shot next, probably after Lesnar.

The HW division is too up in the air to guess who gets the next title shot. Not only do you have DC waiting 6 months for Brock, but you also have the very real possibility that the winner of that fight vacates the title. Then you have arguably the most accomplished HW champ of all time wanting a title shot. You have Blades who's calling for Stipe. You have Jon Jones who's expressed interest in moving up to HW. Who knows about Cain? Remember, this is the UFC. Deserving the next title shot doesn't mean anything.

 

[joestevens29]

Police: UFC's Andrea Lee allegedly assaulted by husband, a convicted killer with Nazi ties

“Donny is trying to burn a cigarette on her arm and her body. She’s yelling to stop trying to burn her.
…
I opened up the door and was like ‘Donny, leave her alone.’ He looked like he was lost. He hadn’t slept in two days. He was drinking for two f—ing days straight. I don’t know what he is on. I’m backing up as he is coming towards me. Andrea was buttoning up her shorts and she was barefoot and ran out the back door.

Might be time to kick the man to the curb

 

[m9]

UFC 229 seems to be taking shape like this.....

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor
Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov
Ovince Saint Preux vs. Dominick Reyes
Sergio Pettis vs. Jussier Formiga
Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig
Sean O'Malley vs. José Alberto Quiñónez

The top two fights are confirmed as the main and co-main events. I doubt any other big fights will get announced so 3 of the other 4 will likely fill out the PPV card. Looks pretty good to me.

There was lots of talk within the last couple years about how Conor was going to insist that there were no other champions or high-profile guys on his card so that he could make the most money. I think they did a good job here of having some interesting fights with contenders while meeting Conor's demands.

OSP v Reyes is the one I'm looking forward to - I really want to see where Reyes is at.

 

[m9]

I think Conor wins. He’ll let Khabib get a bit tired and then get real aggressive. Kind of what Floyd did to him.

I'm not definite either way, but if I had to predict how it would go I would think it goes similar to Conor/Mendes. Khabib grinds him down for a good period of time in the first couple of rounds, but eventually Conor catches him.

It's an interesting fight because there is the known element (Khabib's ground game, Conor's standup) but the part that is unknown is the cardio of either guy. I don't trust either guy to stay fresh. Whoever is forced to be where they don't want to be will get tired and probably lose.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

I'm not definite either way, but if I had to predict how it would go I would think it goes similar to Conor/Mendes. Khabib grinds him down for a good period of time in the first couple of rounds, but eventually Conor catches him.

It's an interesting fight because there is the known element (Khabib's ground game, Conor's standup) but the part that is unknown is the cardio of either guy. I don't trust either guy to stay fresh. Whoever is forced to be where they don't want to be will get tired and probably lose.

I read a theory that we’re getting it so soon because Conor forces Khabib’s hand at a gruelling weight cut that could affect Khabib’s stamina during the fight considering his history with weight cutting. Conor’s had no problems cutting to 145 let alone 155, so he’d have the advantage there. He’ll need to maintain stamina and not go for the kill in the first two rounds though. He’ll essentially need to do what Floyd did to him.

 

[Avs_19]

There was lots of talk within the last couple years about how Conor was going to insist that there were no other champions or high-profile guys on his card so that he could make the most money. I think they did a good job here of having some interesting fights with contenders while meeting Conor's demands.

OSP v Reyes is the one I'm looking forward to - I really want to see where Reyes is at.

I forgot about that Conor rumour/speculation but there might be something to it. It makes sense to have some of the younger fighters like Reyes, Pettis, and O'Malley in interesting fights on that card. They don't really need anyone big to help sell the PPV so they can use it to showcase fighters while still having good competitive fights. I think this is good for fans as well because it frees up some bigger names and top contenders for the other remaining PPVs this year where the main event likely won't be as strong.

Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis want to fight and are trying to get on that card as well.

 

[m9]

I forgot about that Conor rumour/speculation but there might be something to it. It makes sense to have some of the younger fighters like Reyes, Pettis, and O'Malley in interesting fights on that card. They don't really need anyone big to help sell the PPV so they can use it to showcase fighters while still having good competitive fights. I think this is good for fans as well because it frees up some bigger names and top contenders for the other remaining PPVs this year where the main event likely won't be as strong.

Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis want to fight and are trying to get on that card as well.

That would be a great fight to add.

It makes sense for everyone involved to do Conor cards this way. I have no doubt Conor is getting a cut of total revenue from this card, so keep the undercard exciting and cheap.

 

[pistolpete11]

There was lots of talk within the last couple years about how Conor was going to insist that there were no other champions or high-profile guys on his card so that he could make the most money. I think they did a good job here of having some interesting fights with contenders while meeting Conor's demands.

OSP v Reyes is the one I'm looking forward to - I really want to see where Reyes is at.

I forgot about that Conor rumour/speculation but there might be something to it. It makes sense to have some of the younger fighters like Reyes, Pettis, and O'Malley in interesting fights on that card. They don't really need anyone big to help sell the PPV so they can use it to showcase fighters while still having good competitive fights. I think this is good for fans as well because it frees up some bigger names and top contenders for the other remaining PPVs this year where the main event likely won't be as strong.

Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis want to fight and are trying to get on that card as well.

I think this is right, but probably indirectly. I don't think Conor cares about the rest of the card. He just cares about the money. But the UFC still wants to make money on what will probably be the highest selling PPV of the year regardless of the other fights, so they've got to save money on the rest of the card. It's also a great opportunity to showcase guys like Reyes and O'Malley and a great opportunity for the less known fighters, too. So far, I think they've hit the nail on the head. If they add Lee-Pettis...damn.

I heard Lee was already under contract to make weight as a standby in case Conor or Khabib pull out? I guess that could still work. They'd just have to find Pettis a last minute replacement or pay him his show money. I wonder about Tony as well...

 

[m9]

I think this is right, but probably indirectly. I don't think Conor cares about the rest of the card. He just cares about the money. But the UFC still wants to make money on what will probably be the highest selling PPV of the year regardless of the other fights, so they've got to save money on the rest of the card. It's also a great opportunity to showcase guys like Reyes and O'Malley and a great opportunity for the less known fighters, too. So far, I think they've hit the nail on the head. If they add Lee-Pettis...damn.

I heard Lee was already under contract to make weight as a standby in case Conor or Khabib pull out? I guess that could still work. They'd just have to find Pettis a last minute replacement or pay him his show money. I wonder about Tony as well...

I really do think Conor's contract for this fight is going to come out and it's going to be a big story. He'll get his PPV cut, but probably also a cut of the gate and/or a cut of overall event profits. So load up the card with relatively cheap guys (no champs, no big name vets with huge contracts) and everyone profits.

 

[Avs_19]

I really thought they would take a step back and try to get Ngannou back on track against one of the Tybura/Tuivasa types but instead he's right back in there against Blaydes. He already beat him before but this seems like the worst type of match up for Ngannou right now. I'm not sure who is against it, whether it's the UFC, fighters, or managers, but there's nothing wrong with a tune-up fight every now and then.