GDT: UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2

YNWA14

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Dec 29, 2010
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As long as Conor isn't gifted another title shot I don't really care which of the top LWs fight for it. But they've made a joke of things for long enough to accommodate that pissant that I don't think anyone would be surprised to see him get yet another undeserved shot.

I love Poirier, but it sure would be rich for him to give Conor a rematch for the title but refuse to fight Chandler based on some kind of moral issue.
 

pistolpete11

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Apr 27, 2013
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Chandler Oliveira for a title...yeah no Chandler has more work to do...beating Dan Hooker though impressive does not put your name into title contention lol he’s gotta beat a Gaethje, Conor or one of these guys before his name should even be spoken about in terms of a title shot...and I think Chandler is a great fighter but come on 1 UFC win vs Dan Hooker and he deserves a title shot...yeah no
I know Chandler only has 1 win in the UFC, but it's not like he came out of nowhere. He's been the champ at Bellator a couple of times and he not only beat Hooker, but KO'ed him in the first round. If I'm Chandler, I'm saying to Poirier, "You won a close 5 round decision against this guy. I KO'ed him in half a round."

Chandler and Oliveira are the only ones coming off wins in the top 5. I wouldn't argue against Oliveira, but his resume doesn't exactly demand a title shot either.
 

m9

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The only guy who truly deserves it along with Poirier - and it's just barely to me - is Oliveira.

Gaethje won 4 fights and got a title shot where he lost. Why does he deserve it? Go win another fight.

Conor has been discussed.

Chandler beat Hooker in the UFC, and his previous wins in Bellator were over 2 guys who wouldn't even be ranked in the UFC. Go win another fight.

Oliveira has the recent win streak, though his strength of schedule is an issue. In a perfect world he would be in a #1 contenders fight and not be the best option.
 

pistolpete11

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Apr 27, 2013
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The only guy who truly deserves it along with Poirier - and it's just barely to me - is Oliveira.

Gaethje won 4 fights and got a title shot where he lost. Why does he deserve it? Go win another fight.

Conor has been discussed.

Chandler beat Hooker in the UFC, and his previous wins in Bellator were over 2 guys who wouldn't even be ranked in the UFC. Go win another fight.

Oliveira has the recent win streak, though his strength of schedule is an issue. In a perfect world he would be in a #1 contenders fight and not be the best option.
The way things have played out, Khabib retiring or vacating or whatever is going on there has kind of thrown a wrench into what 'should' happen. It 'should' be Khabib-Poirier 2 (even if no one's dying to see that fight, myself included) and Chandler-Oliveira in the #1 contender's fight.

Khabib not being there has made them come up with 2 #1 contenders when there's really only 1. Sometimes there are multiple deserving title challengers, it just isn't that way at LW right now.
 

pistolpete11

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Really, though, none of this matters. You could draw names out of a hat at the top of LW and it's going to make like 4 or 5 bangers regardless of should/deserve/want/need.
 
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m9

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The way things have played out, Khabib retiring or vacating or whatever is going on there has kind of thrown a wrench into what 'should' happen. It 'should' be Khabib-Poirier 2 (even if no one's dying to see that fight, myself included) and Chandler-Oliveira in the #1 contender's fight.

Khabib not being there has made them come up with 2 #1 contenders when there's really only 1. Sometimes there are multiple deserving title challengers, it just isn't that way at LW right now.

It actually makes sense that the UFC was pushing to rush Oliveira /Chandler for this weekend. They needed a clear #1 contender to fight Poirier and a win for either guy would have gotten the schedule back on track. With Oliveira saying no, there's now zero chance he gets the title shot. In fact I think they make him fight RDA or Dariush if they can book the other top guys vs each other.
 
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pistolpete11

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It actually makes sense that the UFC was pushing to rush Oliveira /Chandler for this weekend. They needed a clear #1 contender to fight Poirier and a win for either guy would have gotten the schedule back on track. With Oliveira saying no, there's now zero chance he gets the title shot. In fact I think they make him fight RDA or Dariush if they can book the other top guys vs each other.
Or if we got Chandler-Oliveira instead of Chandler-Hooker like the UFC wanted, but Oliveira turned that one down, too.

I usually don't like the UFC getting spiteful when a fighter doesn't bend to their will, but I can't argue with it too much in this case. His winning streak is nice and all, but it's the quality of the streak. Unranked guys, Lee was 2-3 in his last 5 going into that fight, and Tony was battered by Gaethje. If Oliveira had been the one to break Tony's streak, it might be a little bit more clear cut, but now there's questions on whether Tony is over the hill or how good he actually was in the first place. It's not clear cut enough that he can be turning down fights. I won't fault the UFC if they move onto Chandler or even Conor.
 
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Another thing about Oliveira is that, if you want to be the man, you are going to have to fight the top guys anyway. If he is that confident in his skillset and all, take whoever they offer you that is top-ranked. For a belt or not, a win (and finish) of any of Gaethje, Poirier, Chandler, etc...makes it that much more clear he is the man.

I respect trying to angle for the belt next, but don't go f***ing yourself over and mishandling your way right out of contention. Because as much as most folks are down with him fighting DP for the title (count me among them), I am not going to be too upset if it ends up being some other top combo due to them being amenable.
 
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SuperScript29

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I can't help but think this division is way too mismanaged and filled with politics, inactive fighters, and ducking low reward high risk fighters. The division needs to move on, I don't know what they need to do but they need to do it.

I think guys in the top-5 with recent losses such as Gaethje, Fergurson, and McGregor need to fight guys on their way up such as RDA, Dariush, Makhachev, etc. Guys who are inactive such as AI and Lee need to fight to keep their position. Guys who were in top-10 but lost recently such as Hooker, Felder, and Ferreira probably need to match up with other fighters in the 7-12 range to see who goes what direction. That leaves us with the top-3. To be honest, I'm not sure why Chandler got such a head start over the others, he really needs another fight for me to be convinced. I would make Poirier vs Oliveira for the interim belt, if by then Khabib decides not to come back then we can change that interim to legit champ and who knows, you may have multiple contenders ready for the challenge by then.
 
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m9

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I can't help but think this division is way too mismanaged and filled with politics, inactive fighters, and ducking low reward high risk fighters. The division needs to move on, I don't know what they need to do but they need to do it.

I think guys in the top-5 with recent losses such as Gaethje, Fergurson, and McGregor need to fight guys on their way up such as RDA, Dariush, Makhachev, etc. Guys who are inactive such as AI and Lee need to fight to keep their position. Guys who were in top-10 but lost recently such as Hooker, Felder, and Ferreira probably need to match up with other fighters in the 7-12 range to see who goes what direction. That leaves us with the top-3. To be honest, I'm not sure why Chandler got such a head start over the others, he really needs another fight for me to be convinced. I would make Poirier vs Oliveira for the interim belt, if by then Khabib decides not to come back then we can change that interim to legit champ and who knows, you may have multiple contenders ready for the challenge by then.

I think once a title fight is announced then the rest will follow pretty quickly. Guys are holding out because they think they have a shot at the belt next, and it's hard to blame them when things are such a mess. So you pick the two guys for the title fight and then it's like "Who wants in on a #1 contender fight as the co-main?" and you go from there.
 

bov

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Nov 13, 2010
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Conor is the hold up, the contenders in that division don't want to watch him get spoon fed another opportunity while they grind away against the division's elite. Like Gaethje said, it would be "preposterous" if he is granted the title shot after that performance regardless of being 1-1 against Poirier. Dustin talks about paying dues but seems open to the immediate rematch, mostly because that's another big payday. Can't really blame him but but if he practices what he preaches, he'll take a title fight against someone who actually deserves it.
 

pistolpete11

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Apr 27, 2013
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Conor is the hold up, the contenders in that division don't want to watch him get spoon fed another opportunity while they grind away against the division's elite. Like Gaethje said, it would be "preposterous" if he is granted the title shot after that performance regardless of being 1-1 against Poirier. Dustin talks about paying dues but seems open to the immediate rematch, mostly because that's another big payday. Can't really blame him but but if he practices what he preaches, he'll take a title fight against someone who actually deserves it.
Poirier has been pretty upfront about where he stands whether anyone agrees with him or not. He's paid his dues and now he's looking out for number one. In his interview with Luke Thomas, when asked about Nate Diaz he said almost verbatim, "Does it make sense? No, but I'm open to it". If there is a guy that deserves a title shot less than Conor, it might be Nate Diaz.

If the UFC and Conor want an immediate rematch, that's what we are going to get.
 

SuperScript29

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Nov 17, 2017
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My fantasy scenario:

- Poireir vs Oliveira: It will be for the interim, if Khabib doesn't come back then interim changes to legit champ.

- Chandler vs Gaethje: I feel like the UFC rushed Chandler in there. I think it's better that we see if he can beat a top-5 opponent before considering him for the title. A win for Gaethje puts him right back in the title picture.

- McGregor vs RDA: I think this is a good fight for both guys. RDA won his lightweight return and Connor is coming off a loss. This would be a big fight for both guys.

- Ferguson vs Diaz: I know Diaz isn't ranked that high but he's a huge household name. Tony is coming off two losses but beating someone like Diaz puts him right back in the mix. Not to mention the attitude of these guys would be a huge money fight.

- Hooker vs Dariush: Both are ranked at #8 and #9, seems like this is the best time to match them up. Hooker is coming off a loss so beating a top-10 opponent with an impressive streak will put him back on track, whereas a victory for Dariush would push him up for a potential top-5 opponent.

- Felder vs Ferreira: Both lost their last fights but also seem to be in a position to fight one another, similar to Dariush/Hooker.

- Lee vs Makhachev: Makhachev needs to start moving up the ladder so a win over Lee will do that, but a win for Lee will also make him significant given that a lot of people see Islam as Khabib's successor.

- Iquinta vs Dober: Dober seems like he's doing well recently and needs a step up in competition to move up. With Iquinta coming off two losses and being inactive, he needs to get back in there.

- Gillespie vs Moises: Seems like a fitting fight for both guys.
 
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m9

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How I'd do it -

Poirier/Conor 3 (title fight)
Gaethje/Nate
Chandler/Oliveira
Ferguson/Hooker
Dariush/RDA
 

SuperScript29

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A lot of that makes sense, the only change being that Makhachev is scheduled to fight Dober on the March 6 card.

That's an okay fight I guess, but it would suck for one of those guys to lose since they have nice winning streaks going for them. Plus I think both fighters will probably get a bigger jump if they fight the likes of Lee or Iquinta.

How I'd do it -

Poirier/Conor 3 (title fight)
Gaethje/Nate
Chandler/Oliveira
Ferguson/Hooker
Dariush/RDA

Poirier/Connor makes no sense, and Dariush/RDA will not happen unless it's for the title given that they're very good friends and train out of the same gym. Both have made it clear that they won't fight and would rather move up a weight class rather than fight one another. I would be annoyed if they were pulling this crap and they were #2 and #3 but given the lightweight picture, there are plenty of others they can match them up with.
 
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m9

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I don't think Conor should fight him again for the title but whatever, I'll watch it. I'll feel bad for Dustin if he loses but if Conor loses again... hmm. I wonder if he continues. They have a date for this yet?

Sounds like it will happen in the summer, I will guess in July.
 

CDJ

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Nov 20, 2006
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Hell baby
Dana said the trilogy wouldn’t be for the belt, he’s still holding out hope for khabib lol
 

BGDDYKWL

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Jul 16, 2007
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I'd really like to see a sort of semi-tournament at 155 on the Conor-Poirier card. Book 3-4 top 155 contender fights on it, then matchup whoever impressed the most with the Conor/Poirier winner for the vacant title fight next.
 
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darko

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Feb 16, 2009
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If Dustin wants to fight Conor again to cash in, just have Oliviera v Gaethje for the vacant belt.
 

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