MMA General Discussion and Fight Announcements 9.0

[bov]

What a great card. The Hardy /De Castro fight is an utter waste of a main card spot (as usual), but almost every other fight has some intrigue. I guess with the current circumstances though, the bout order doesn't matter much.

Still wouldn't bet on this happening but obviously the UFC has been hard at work putting it together, really hope that this can take place safely for everyone involved.

 

[m9]

What a great card. The Hardy /De Castro fight is an utter waste of a main card spot (as usual), but almost every other fight has some intrigue. I guess with the current circumstances though, the bout order doesn't matter much.

Still wouldn't bet on this happening but obviously the UFC has been hard at work putting it together, really hope that this can take place safely for everyone involved.

I don't think the bout order has been determined but no way is that the main event.

 

[bov]

I don't think the bout order has been determined but no way is that the main event.

You're right and with Ngannou/Rozenstruik below I'm sure there will be some shuffling.

 

[chicagoskycam]

I think Tony takes this one if it happens. I just don’t believe Justin has been training for this all along like Tony. I also think Tony may pick him apart when Gaethje goes to cover mode, and Tony never loses steam. Gaethje needs to connect early ..

if they have a venue I have no issue with it as long as everyone working it accepts the risk. Private planes for everyone. The girl at my local gas station got more exposure today than these guys will get.

UFC should donate a portion to Covid ... donate masks.. That way they don’t take flack and may increase PPV buys

 

[sabremike]

Dana White is pure carny scum. In terms of MMA sleaze what he is doing blows Belator allowing that Kimbo-Dada fight out of the water and I never thought any MMA group could possibly ever top that.

 

[h2]

Apparently the fights are happening on a private island!? This is awesome. Dana White is a mutha ******* G!

 

[CDJ]

That’s such a baller move


Still shouldn’t be having the event but f*** that’s cool

 

[h2]

That’s such a baller move


Still shouldn’t be having the event but f*** that’s cool

Real life Mortal Kombat

 

[CDJ]

Okamoto asked him if they were gonna do covid-19 testing and he didn’t really answer the question, yeeesh


Said something to the effect that they’re going to go above and beyond for the safety of those involved in the event. Did not say yes lol. I’ve known how Dana operates for too long to not know what he was doing there. You slimy bastard Dana, I love you


Now getting some “Vince has been doing it” lol

 

[m9]

My main question for the "private island" is the medical staff and how that part works if/when a fighter needs to go to a hospital.

As for for Covid testing, I know everyone is going crazy for that but honestly I don't really care in this situation. The people involved are generally extremely healthy so I expect they will be told to quarantine or isolate after so they don't spread anything.

I've said from the beginning they have a better ability to pull this off because it's a 1 on 1 sport with fighters only fighting a couple of times a year so they can essentially rotate guys in (train, fight, quarantine) so we'll see what happens from here.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Okamoto asked him if they were gonna do covid-19 testing and he didn’t really answer the question, yeeesh


Said something to the effect that they’re going to go above and beyond for the safety of those involved in the event. Did not say yes lol. I’ve known how Dana operates for too long to not know what he was doing there. You slimy bastard Dana, I love you


Now getting some “Vince has been doing it” lol

They need tests and I'm not sure if they can get them and if they can what are the optics of the U.F.C. securing tests for their fighters and employees when regular people could not be tested.

 

[pistolpete11]

I don't think Tony training already matters much unless Gaethje is out of shape. Tony was training for an offensive wrestler. Gaethje is not that. Gaethje has the power. That doesn't need to be trained. There's a long list of people winning on short notice, too, so I think the short notice thing is overstated.

I'm glad it's for the interim belt. Usually, I think interim belts are stupid, but whoever wins this fight will get paid more in their next fight. For going thorough all this shit, I think they deserve a bump in pay in their next fight. The loser does, too, so hopefully the UFC is not only protecting everybody involved, but making it financially worth it, too.

I think Tony is going to win. I think it's a dangerous fight for him, but I think he's just a better striker, has more tools, is so unpredictable, has a chin, and an insane gas tank. Gaethje is a great fighter, but Poirier and Alvarez were able to eat his shots and wear him down. I think Tony will be able to do the same.

As for the rest of the card, it's pretty damn good all things considered. I hope it can stay together, but 2 weeks is a long time for stuff to happen even under normal circumstances.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Hopefully, there is a downward trend in the number of cases in the next week and it's not a big deal. They should probably push it a week.

 

[bov]

The first round or two could be insane. I like Tony's gas tank especially with Gaethje on short notice, but he'll have to weather the storm early on. I see it being a wild one with Gaethje getting the better of things until he slows down and leaves an opening. I'll go late 2nd round, early 3rd sub for Tony if he can survive a few scares on the feet.

That said, the leg kicks could be an x factor in this one. Tony had that brutal injury awhile back and nobody has really gone after the legs since. On less than 2 weeks notice, it may be hard to make the adjustments for Gaethje's kicking game.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Maybe Dana purchased Frye Fest island.

 

[Incognito]

Even if Tony loses (which I don't think he will), he still deserves to be the one to fight Khabib next for the title. The guy has basically cleared out his entire division with a 12 fight win streak and is still waiting for his shot at the belt, all because Dana White is a prick. Even if Gaethje wins, I think he needs to wait in line.

 

[m9]

Even if Tony loses (which I don't think he will), he still deserves to be the one to fight Khabib next for the title. The guy has basically cleared out his entire division with a 12 fight win streak and is still waiting for his shot at the belt, all because Dana White is a prick. Even if Gaethje wins, I think he needs to wait in line.

If Gaethje wins he deserves the next title shot. Saying Ferguson should get it anyway if he loses makes no sense. A loss doesn't push Ferguson far back, but obviously if Gaethje wins he's next for Khabib assuming health/timing.

Second, do you really think it's Dana White's fault that Ferguson hasn't gotten a title shot? He's booked title fights for Ferguson multiple times and they've all fallen out for a variety of reasons. He also had to take a bunch of time off because of a knee injury and then because of some ongoing mental health issues. I don't see the point of mindlessly taking a shot at Dana White here.. especially when there are legit things you could take shots at White about.

 

[Incognito]

This is an awful post.

First, if Gaethje wins he deserves the next title shot. Saying Ferguson should get it anyway if he loses makes no sense. A loss doesn't push Ferguson far back, but obviously if Gaethje wins he's next for Khabib assuming health/timing.

Second, do you really think it's Dana White's fault that Ferguson hasn't gotten a title shot? He's booked title fights for Ferguson multiple times and they've all fallen out for a variety of reasons. He also had to take a bunch of time off because of a knee injury and then because of some ongoing mental health issues.

Khabib-Ferguson has been scheduled and cancelled something like five different times now. Ferguson is 36 and may not have that many prime years left. I think I can speak for most MMA fans when I say this is a fight that people have been wanting for a long time. Gaethje will get a shot at some point, but he should wait regardless of the outcome. Ferguson is one of the GOATs at lightweight. It’s far from unprecedented for the UFC to have guys skip what is technically the line and jump straight to a title fight. No reason why they couldn’t do this here too.

I’m not saying that Dana White is to blame for the circumstances surrounding those scheduled title fights falling through. Not at all. But I do believe that Dana did Tony dirty when he stripped him of his belt because of a freak knee injury that tore his left LCL clean off the bone. Tony only took 6 months off to recover before fighting again. That’s hardly unreasonable.

 

[pistolpete11]

The winner of this fight (if it happens) absolutely should be fighting Khabib for the title next. Not even a question about it...barring injury and/or virus issues, of course.

I think the loser should fight Conor next. Whoever wins that, gets the next title shot after Khabib vs. the winner. Poirier is somewhere in the mix, too, if he beats Hooker as I expect he will.

A long time ago, I was advocating Poirier as Conor's return fight. I still think that fight makes a lot of sense for Poirier, Conor, and the UFC. Poirier gets the Conor bump and a main event. I like Conor's chances and it's a legit win to earn another title shot. The UFC gets to keep some credibility if they make Conor get another win before giving him a title shot. Win-win-win.

It is the UFC, though, so Khabib-Conor 2 in August is probably the most likely

 

[m9]

Khabib-Ferguson has been scheduled and cancelled something like five different times now. Ferguson is 36 and may not have that many prime years left. I think I can speak for most MMA fans when I say this is a fight that people have been wanting for a long time. Gaethje will get a shot at some point, but he should wait regardless of the outcome. Ferguson is one of the GOATs at lightweight. It’s far from unprecedented for the UFC to have guys skip what is technically the line and jump straight to a title fight. No reason why they couldn’t do this here too.

I’m not saying that Dana White is to blame for the circumstances surrounding those scheduled title fights falling through. Not at all. But I do believe that Dana did Tony dirty when he stripped him of his belt because of a freak knee injury that tore his left LCL clean off the bone. Tony only took 6 months off to recover before fighting again. That’s hardly unreasonable.

It's pretty contradictory to say "Gaethje will get his shot at some point, he should wait" at the same time going over how Ferguson never got his shot. Ferguson's history is exactly why Gaethje needs to get that title shot if he wins this fight - you need to get that opportunity while you can because things change so quickly in the sport. I'm a big Ferguson fan and want him to get that title shot too, but if he loses to Gaethje then Gaethje jumps him in line and nothing you have mentioned is a legit reason against it. Basically I don't think you should lose a fight and earn a title shot, with the exception of some title rematches.

I didn't like how the Ferguson losing his interim belt went down either but it was also a weird situation where you had Conor leave, Ferguson get hurt, then Khabib win. 3 guys and only 2 can fight each other. I think for UFC229 the UFC had two legit challengers in Conor & Ferguson and I would have been fine with either of them. I would have to go back to see my thoughts at the time because with how much has gone on with Khabib/Ferguson the timeline gets a bit blurry looking back. My main point was that I don't think much of Ferguson's lack of title shot has been Dana White's fault, it's just been some weird bad luck/circumstances/timing that have caused it.

 

[m9]

The winner of this fight (if it happens) absolutely should be fighting Khabib for the title next. Not even a question about it...barring injury and/or virus issues, of course.

I think the loser should fight Conor next. Whoever wins that, gets the next title shot after Khabib vs. the winner. Poirier is somewhere in the mix, too, if he beats Hooker as I expect he will.

A long time ago, I was advocating Poirier as Conor's return fight. I still think that fight makes a lot of sense for Poirier, Conor, and the UFC. Poirier gets the Conor bump and a main event. I like Conor's chances and it's a legit win to earn another title shot. The UFC gets to keep some credibility if they make Conor get another win before giving him a title shot. Win-win-win.

It is the UFC, though, so Khabib-Conor 2 in August is probably the most likely

I think with how it worked out, Conor/Nate 3 becomes more likely for Conor's next fight.

Khabib v Ferguson/Gaethje
Masvidal v Usman
Conor v Nate 3

If Conor wins they have some great options after that. Obviously Khabib/Ferguson/Gaethje for a title are fine, but if Masvidal wins then you have Conor v Masvidal for the 170lb title.

 

[pistolpete11]

I think with how it worked out, Conor/Nate 3 becomes more likely for Conor's next fight.

Khabib v Ferguson/Gaethje
Masvidal v Usman
Conor v Nate 3

If Conor wins they have some great options after that. Obviously Khabib/Ferguson/Gaethje for a title are fine, but if Masvidal wins then you have Conor v Masvidal for the 170lb title.

I don't think a win over Nate should get Conor a title shot at 155 or 170.

Not to say it wouldn't, but I wouldn't like it.

 

[h2]

I always thought Conor should fight Gaethje or Poirier next. I don’t see the Khabib fight playing any differently than the first time. Certain fighters are just bad matchups and I think this is the case with Khabib for Conor. Ferguson is the only person I see with the ability to beat Khabib because of his abilities to set traps up on the ground and his unpredictable unorthodox standup and incredible cardio.

Gaethje-Ferguson will be lit, but I still want that Khabib-Ferguson matchup. It needs to happen for the people!

 

[sabremike]

Okamoto asked him if they were gonna do covid-19 testing and he didn’t really answer the question, yeeesh


Said something to the effect that they’re going to go above and beyond for the safety of those involved in the event. Did not say yes lol. I’ve known how Dana operates for too long to not know what he was doing there. You slimy bastard Dana, I love you


Now getting some “Vince has been doing it” lol

For starters:

- Wouldn't the extreme weight cutting that is the norm be a threat to compromise someone's health and make them at risk?

- Won't the fact that none of these fighters can do actual training for their fights (I heard one story about a guy working with his trainer via Skype. Think about how ridiculous that is) also jeopardize their safety?

- The fighters themselves are young and healthy, some of their corner men/trainers are not (not to mention ringside physicians and judges).

- The tests are incredibly reliable in confirming you are positive but have a very high rate of giving false negative results (says you don't have the virus when in fact you do).

 

[chicagoskycam]

For starters:

- Wouldn't the extreme weight cutting that is the norm be a threat to compromise someone's health and make them at risk?

- Won't the fact that none of these fighters can do actual training for their fights (I heard one story about a guy working with his trainer via Skype. Think about how ridiculous that is) also jeopardize their safety?

- The fighters themselves are young and healthy, some of their corner men/trainers are not (not to mention ringside physicians and judges).

- The tests are incredibly reliable in confirming you are positive but have a very high rate of giving false negative results (says you don't have the virus when in fact you do).

Are you serious with some of this stuff? We get it, you think its a bad idea. This does not need to turn in to some political debate. In my opinion and I live in a stay at home state, businesses are operating with the public with no masks or gloves on a daily basis, seeing hundreds of people per day for "essential business". It's a joke and we don't' need a debate about this group of very healthy adults getting together by choice to 1. Earn a paycheck and 2. Entertain the public and offer a glimmer of hope this thing is nearing an end.

If a corner guy thinks he is in a high-risk group he won't go. I'm going to assume the UFC takes the appropriate steps.