MMA General Discussion and Fight Announcements 8.0

[m9]

I don't believe for a second that the UFC or McGregor is considering Gaethje

Gaethje isn't a big enough name, and he offers too big a risk to McGregor

If you're the UFC, you're hoping Diaz beats Masvidal, so you can set up Diaz vs McGregor 3 with the winner taking on the winner of Khabib/Ferguson

I think Gaethje would definitely be considered but I agree he might be missing the "big name" part. He checks all of the other boxes, though. I think Cowboy or the Diaz/Masvidal winner are the more likely options, with Gaethje being 4th.

 

[Avs_19]

Considering McGregor was just trying to get a fight with 135 lb Frankie Edgar, I'd be surprised if he took the Gaethje fight in his return. It's probably not the best idea for the UFC either if they want to continue to cash in on him. McGregor can beat both if he's on his game but Cerrone is the more beatable fighter.

 

[pistolpete11]

Gaethje makes the most sense in terms of the division IMO.

Cowboy makes the most sense in terms of giving Conor the best odds of a win, in a fight that makes at least some sense, and people would really want to see.

Poirier is the same as Cowboy, but not as big of a name.

Masvidal vs. Conor doesn't really do it for me. Maybe that changes if he beats Nate, but I don't know. I like Masvidal, but it's just not that exciting to me other than Conor coming back.

Nate is the biggest fight that wouldn't totally piss everyone off.

A rematch with Khabib is probably the biggest fight they could make, but would totally piss everyone off.

Probably not even worth mentioning anymore, but Frankie makes 0 sense.

 

[m9]

The other name I would throw out there as an option would be Anthony Pettis. Former champ, good style matchup for Conor. Not quite the name as some others but might be a fit and would probably be a great fight.

 

[member 51464]

The idea of a Nate v Khabib fight is hilarious to me. Not the fight itself, but the media leading up to it. Like I can hardly imagine the crazy shit Nate would say, haha

 

[Michael HOMERUNing]

Gaethje would and absolutely should take the Conor fight if it's on the table. Yes, for the payday and the increased name recognition from casuals, but also, who else is he going to fight? They're talking about doing Khabib-Tony in like March. If he'd wait for the winner, that means we're talking like July next year for his next fight at the earliest. That's a long time. A lot can happen between now and then. Conor could come back and get a win (say against Cowboy) and you know the UFC would be itching to give him the next title shot. GSP is out there if Khabib wins. Who knows what any of the guys below Gaethje do between now and then. Take the payday, stay active, try to knock Conor down another peg, and stay as the next in line for the title shot.

Khabib and Tony each have one fight since 229 in September 2018. If they do end up fighting in March, don't expect the belt to be defended until at least fall 2020. If Gaethje doesn't take this McGregor bout, his only choices are to wait a whole year between fights or fight a lower ranked opponent and risk losing that title shot. At least a Connor fight would be huge payday

 

[Michael HOMERUNing]

The other name I would throw out there as an option would be Anthony Pettis. Former champ, good style matchup for Conor. Not quite the name as some others but might be a fit and would probably be a great fight.

Pettis and Ceronne have apparently agreed to a fight, not sure if it's at LW or WW

 

[BGDDYKWL]

I'm a little surprised Askren is the betting favorite here. Their MMA resumes aren't even close, and Maia has a non-trivial size advantage. Askren won't win this standing so you're asking him to be able to take Maia down every round, then outgrapple him, all without Maia catching him. Can't say I love those odds.

 

[Peter Griffin]

I still get the feeling that this is just Nate being Nate and the UFC will be announcing this as a “misunderstanding” and “apologizing” to Nate.

UFC execs on why Nate Diaz was exonerated: 'Nate is not a cheater'

And here’s the “apology”.

 

[Avs_19]

Maia choked out Askren in the third round. It was impressive how he was able to go through the transitions rather easily after getting taken down. He's obviously an elite grappler but Askren is no joke either once he gets on top. The fight was pretty good once it got to the ground and I didn't even mind some of the striking exchanges.

 

[m9]

Good win for Maia, agreed with the above that is was weird Askren was such a favorite. This just wasn't a good style matchup for him, and that transition from Maia after he got taken down was great.

 

[Avs_19]

We've been waiting years for Aldo to finally change divisions but I never once expected him to go down. He has had some of the rougher weight cuts at 145 so it's tough for me to think this is a good idea regardless of what kind of shape he might be in right now. It gives me some Pettis and more recently Dillashaw vibes.

I also don't think it's going to be a good night for Faber and I'll be surprised if Yan doesn't light him up. Props to Faber for trying to get a title shot the hard way though.

Anyways, that card looks good:

Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington
Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie
Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes
Petr Yan vs. Urijah Faber

Lawler is/was supposed to be on the card as well but he currently doesn't have an opponent.

 

[m9]

We've been waiting years for Aldo to finally change divisions but I never once expected him to go down. He has had some of the rougher weight cuts at 145 so it's tough for me to think this is a good idea regardless of what kind of shape he might be in right now. It gives me some Pettis and more recently Dillashaw vibes.

I also don't think it's going to be a good night for Faber and I'll be surprised if Yan doesn't light him up. Props to Faber for trying to get a title shot the hard way though.

Anyways, that card looks good:

Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington
Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski
Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie
Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes
Petr Yan vs. Urijah Faber

Lawler is/was supposed to be on the card as well but he currently doesn't have an opponent.

In terms of relevance, this is probably the biggest card of the year. Sometimes you have fighters fall into title shots for various reasons but those top two fights have the legit #1 challenger.

I don't like Faber's chances either and Aldo's weight cut is a big question mark but as a WEC fan I'm sure I'll talk my way into both of their fights by the time the card rolls around.

 

[m9]

Obviously it's early, but the UFC is setup quite well in terms of PPVs coming up. The next two cards are completely loaded and then you have the likely return of Conor in January.

February is often in Australia, so Adesanya defending his title makes sense and you can throw Whittaker in a co-main.

Khabib/Ferguson is expected to happen in March.

Jones/Reyes & Cormier/Miocic are both still kicking around as potential main events too.

 

[Neutrinos]

Obviously it's early, but the UFC is setup quite well in terms of PPVs coming up. The next two cards are completely loaded and then you have the likely return of Conor in January.

February is often in Australia, so Adesanya defending his title makes sense and you can throw Whittaker in a co-main.

Khabib/Ferguson is expected to happen in March.

Jones/Reyes & Cormier/Miocic are both still kicking around as potential main events too.

The winner of Gastelum/Till makes some sense there

 

[Avs_19]

The Rory/Lima rematch wasn’t very good for the most part. Rory just never pulled the trigger and then Lima was in control for the last few rounds after the early feeling out process.

Not a great way for Rory to head back into free agency.

 

[h2]

The Rory/Lima rematch wasn’t very good for the most part. Rory just never pulled the trigger and then Lima was in control for the last few rounds after the early feeling out process.

Not a great way for Rory to head back into free agency.

Rory seemed to be too weary of the leg kicks that it took away his offense standing up. I also don't think Lima looked good at all and I think the score cards are complete whack. I'd give Lima a one round advantage. 50-45 is just crazy.

 

[Suxnet]

Anyone else think Maia is a HoFer? Never managed to get a belt but he has fought killers and is likely the best bjj practitioner in MMA history.

As for Rory vs Lima -- that was a pretty bad fight. Rory used to be such a good all-around fighter but now he's just all-around mediocre. He should probably retire.

 

[Avs_19]

Rory seemed to be too weary of the leg kicks that it took away his offense standing up. I also don't think Lima looked good at all and I think the score cards are complete whack. I'd give Lima a one round advantage. 50-45 is just crazy.

Yeah, the leg kicks likely played a role but he also just didn't have it. He had nothing to offer after he couldn't get the takedowns.

I had it 49-46 for Lima. First round was close but I went with Rory and then it was all Lima.

Anyone else think Maia is a HoFer? Never managed to get a belt but he has fought killers and is likely the best bjj practitioner in MMA history.

As for Rory vs Lima -- that was a pretty bad fight. Rory used to be such a good all-around fighter but now he's just all-around mediocre. He should probably retire.

Maia is pretty underrated. Could be due to his style or because he's a really quiet guy but he has had a good run. I saw someone mention earlier today that he's 10-3 in his last 13 fights with wins over Magny, Gunnar, Brown, Condit, Masvidal, and now Askren. His only three losses in that stretch are to Woodley, Usman, and Covington. He's one of those guys who could never win the big one but that shouldn't take away from what he's done. He's probably a HOF'er.

 

[bov]

I was hoping Rory would win this one and ride off into the sunset with 1M but he got picked apart. Lots of mileage on him at this point, he just doesn't look dangerous anymore. May not mean much but I remember Dana White saying Rory was never the same after the 2nd Lawler fight.

Didn't see the Askren fight but he's another who may have to call it a career, even moreso than Rory.

 

[Peter Griffin]

He's probably a HOF'er.

I think he deserves to be in similar to Cowboy. Neither guy has ever had a belt but both have had a lot of wins and finishes and have beaten a lot of the top guys. They’ve done a lot for MMA and more importantly the UFC.

 

[m9]

That Rory/Lima fight was awful.

 

[pistolpete11]

Costa had bicep surgery? Not sure about the recovery time there, but I feel like that ends NFL players seasons. That sucks. That fight really had some momentum behind it. Now Stylebender is saying Romero...which is also an amazingly intriguing fight, but a way worse matchup for Stylebender.

 

[member 51464]

Romero is an all-time beast, but he is starting to get some serious mileage on the tires. The wars with Bobby and then Costa and I wonder if he's still got it. At the same time, you can't really say someone is slowing down until it happens. I could definitely see him mercing Israel, but I think it should be a fun fight if it goes down.

Romero can just be so explosive and so violent so suddenly that he can't really be counted out. I'd have to think Israel would need to be picking him apart from distance from the start to not let Romero ever get comfy enough to go supernova.

TL;DR This fight would be a must see for me.

 

[pistolpete11]

Romero is an all-time beast, but he is starting to get some serious mileage on the tires. The wars with Bobby and then Costa and I wonder if he's still got it. At the same time, you can't really say someone is slowing down until it happens. I could definitely see him mercing Israel, but I think it should be a fun fight if it goes down.

Romero can just be so explosive and so violent so suddenly that he can't really be counted out. I'd have to think Israel would need to be picking him apart from distance from the start to not let Romero ever get comfy enough to go supernova.

TL;DR This fight would be a must see for me.

It's not a done deal yet, but I agree it's a must watch if it happens.

The biggest question as usual with Romero is if he will use his wrestling and how his opponent will handle it if he does. Stylebender stuffed a bunch of Gastelum's takedowns, but Gastelum is not Romero.