GDT: UFC 280: Oliveira vs. Makhachev/ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs. Andrade

[m9]

Me too, but that's not the way it's heading.

Dariush will probably have to take another fight to even be in consideration for the next shot after Volk. Gaethje's free and that would be a good fight for Dariush. Big name to get him more attention and Dariush would slice through him on the ground.

Oliveira/Dariush is the answer.

 

[Taytro]

The whole Islam vs Volk fight doesn't make any sense. It's gonna be a walk in the park for Islam, he has significant size advantage and a lifetime of wrestling. Volk has a puncher's chance, that it. This is gonna look worse than GSP vs Penn.

Give Dariush the shot already, the guy is in his prime and is the most intriguing matchup for Islam at the moment. The fact that not a single comment or question about him in the press conference is absolutely absurd and even borderline shady if I'm being honest.

It's not absurd or shady, it's that Benny doesn't do himself any favours. He's not particularly personable, doesn't market himself, doesn't make any effort to get noticed, etc.

I agree that the UFC shouldn't do Volk vs Islam becuase it knocks down the selling power of the loser. But the fact is that Benny just doesn't sell, the media isn't interested in him, the casual fans aren't either. He just hasn't been interesting and if it has to be forced to make him somewhat compelling then it just doesn't work. I like him but this is still the entertainment industry and truth be told, he's not nearly as entertaining as some others. No one is tuning in just to watch a Dariush fight, so he doesn't bring much to the table.

 

[pistolpete11]

Oliveira/Dariush is the answer.

If I'm Dariush, I like my chances against Gaethje more because getting to the ground is a very clear path to victory. I'm not sure what the path to victory is against Oliveira. Not saying he can't win. Just don't know how he would do it.

 

[pistolpete11]

It's not absurd or shady, it's that Benny doesn't do himself any favours. He's not particularly personable, doesn't market himself, doesn't make any effort to get noticed, etc.

I agree that the UFC shouldn't do Volk vs Islam becuase it knocks down the selling power of the loser. But the fact is that Benny just doesn't sell, the media isn't interested in him, the casual fans aren't either. He just hasn't been interesting and if it has to be forced to make him somewhat compelling then it just doesn't work. I like him but this is still the entertainment industry and truth be told, he's not nearly as entertaining as some others. No one is tuning in just to watch a Dariush fight, so he doesn't bring much to the table.

Plus, when he had the most momentum, he had to pull out of his next fight, didn't fight for over a year, and then when he came back he fought the #9 guy. It might not be his fault he had to fight Gamrot, but it's not exactly a win that demands a title shot.

I know Islam and Oliveira before him...and honestly Khabib before that, didn't exactly have the best resumes when they got their title shots (although for Islam that's because he had his opponents pull out in back-to-back fights), but sometimes it comes down to timing. They have another option right now with Volk. I don't want them to take it because I don't find Islam-Volk that intriguing of a fight, but it's actually not bad timing. Neither division has a clear cut #1 contender.

 

[SuperScript29]

Plus, when he had the most momentum, he had to pull out of his next fight, didn't fight for over a year, and then when he came back he fought the #9 guy. It might not be his fault he had to fight Gamrot, but it's not exactly a win that demands a title shot.

I know Islam and Oliveira before him...and honestly Khabib before that, didn't exactly have the best resumes when they got their title shots (although for Islam that's because he had his opponents pull out in back-to-back fights), but sometimes it comes down to timing. They have another option right now with Volk. I don't want them to take it because I don't find Islam-Volk that intriguing of a fight, but it's actually not bad timing. Neither division has a clear cut #1 contender.

If we're gonna give Islam a pass for his climb due to opponents pulling out, let's not forget that Beneil was scheduled to fight Oliveira, then Charles pulled out for 'personal' reasons only to get scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson a few weeks later and Benny went on to fight CDF.

I get that Benny is not a great draw due to his personality, but at some point the sport needs some integrity and actually reward fighters for their action inside the octagon.

 

[pistolpete11]

If we're gonna give Islam a pass for his climb due to opponents pulling out, let's not forget that Beneil was scheduled to fight Oliveira, then Charles pulled out for 'personal' reasons only to get scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson a few weeks later and Benny went on to fight CDF.

I get that Benny is not a great draw due to his personality, but at some point the sport needs some integrity and actually reward fighters for their action inside the octagon.

You mean 2 years ago?

But you're missing the point anyway.

The point is that Dariush hasn't done anything to demand a title shot AND they have another option.

Islam got a title shot.....in part.....because there were no other options. Poirier, Gaethje, and Chandler had already lost to Oliveira. Dariush hadn't fought in a year and pulled out against Islam. Volk still had business to take care of with Max. Conor was out of commission and doesn't deserve a shot anyway. Etc.

 

[Neutrinos]

Oliveira/Dariush is the answer.

Dariush was scheduled to fight Islam earlier this year, but had to withdraw due to an ankle injury

So, there's the angle of "unfinished business" between them

But if I'm the UFC, I don't want to have Dariush eliminated as a contender by someone who I won't be giving an immediate title shot to

Maybe someone like Gaethje would make more sense, with the winner taking on Islam

With that said, if I'm the UFC, I'm not having my 145 champ move up, so I'd probably just book Dariush vs Islam as the next title fight

 

[m9]

Dariush was scheduled to fight Islam earlier this year, but had to withdraw due to an ankle injury

So, there's the angle of "unfinished business" between them

But if I'm the UFC, I don't want to have Dariush eliminated as a contender by someone who I won't be giving an immediate title shot to

Maybe someone like Gaethje would make more sense, with the winner taking on Islam

With that said, if I'm the UFC, I'm not having my 145 champ move up, so I'd probably just book Dariush vs Islam as the next title fight

I don't think the UFC cares about eliminating Dariush as a contender. If anything, they would probably be happier as they can give the title shot to their bigger names instead.

Dariush deserves the next title shot, but I can also see why he isn't getting it. You just crowned Islam in one of the biggest PPVs of the year. He beat a guy in Oliveira who has been on an amazing run knocking off contenders and popular fighters. And for his big first title fight you have him fight.. Dariush? Who 90% of fans have never heard of?

Just bad timing for Dariush. He's like the perfect 3rd or 4th challenger when you need a guy, but not the first one.

Also it just seems like the UFC feels they owe Volk this fight. I guess for having to beat Max 20 times, or maybe weighing in as a backup for this one. Who knows. It's just weird to me as there are interesting fights for both guys in their own division. It's also not a "superfight" - one guy just won the belt. It's also an awful matchup for Volkanovski. You want to get manhandled in a PPV headliner in your own country instead of fighting Yair Rodriguez or Josh Emmett? Why?

 

[pistolpete11]

I don't think the UFC cares about eliminating Dariush as a contender. If anything, they would probably be happier as they can give the title shot to their bigger names instead.

Dariush deserves the next title shot, but I can also see why he isn't getting it. You just crowned Islam in one of the biggest PPVs of the year. He beat a guy in Oliveira who has been on an amazing run knocking off contenders and popular fighters. And for his big first title fight you have him fight.. Dariush? Who 90% of fans have never heard of?

Just bad timing for Dariush. He's like the perfect 3rd or 4th challenger when you need a guy, but not the first one.

Also it just seems like the UFC feels they owe Volk this fight. I guess for having to beat Max 20 times, or maybe weighing in as a backup for this one. Who knows. It's just weird to me as there are interesting fights for both guys in their own division. It's also not a "superfight" - one guy just won the belt. It's also an awful matchup for Volkanovski. You want to get manhandled in a PPV headliner in your own country instead of fighting Yair Rodriguez or Josh Emmett? Why?

Dariush deserves it more than any other LW, but his resume isn't really at the level you'd hope for a title shot. I don't know. I think Islam-Volk makes sense from everyone's perspective.

For Islam, it's probably an easy win and it's bigger than a Dariush fight. #1 P4P guy, trying to become a champ-champ, and there's not many people that Volk would be a better promoter than, but Dariush is one of them.

For Volk, I don't like his chances, but fighters are delusional. He probably thinks he can win, doesn't know if he will get the fight again, and if he loses, oh well, he's still the 145 champ and will get another fight where he gets PPV points.

For the UFC, it's not a massive fight, but it's bigger than anything they could reasonably give Islam or Volk and there's not really any deserving contenders at either weight. So why not? They can still put together some other relatively big fights with Dariush-Oliveira/Gaethje and Yair-Emmett in #1 contender fights, too.

 

[CDJ]

How great would O’Malley-Sandhagen be?

 

[Chaels Arms]

Lots of MMA media talking about the TJ situation now. Luke Thomas stated very clearly TJ must have been doing this purely for money and it was a disservice to the fans that fight was allowed to happen.

I remember after either McGregor vs. Poirier 3 or Ngannou v. Gane Big John McCarthy said on his podcast the fighters have to submit a sworn statement to whatever commission is managing the event listing injuries they sustained or are currently dealing with. Did Dillashaw not disclose that injury before the fight? Dana is claiming they didn't know but Dana may be relying on semantics with that claim ("Mark Zuckerberg didn't rent out the Apex you fools!")

It really suck what happened but I'm also not sure where to draw the line here. Ngannou fought with a destroyed knee which no one knew about until we saw him wearing the knee wraps in the octagon and won. Did TJ's team think he could battle through the shoulder problems and grind out a win or did they just want to show up and get paid?

 

[pistolpete11]

Lots of MMA media talking about the TJ situation now. Luke Thomas stated very clearly TJ must have been doing this purely for money and it was a disservice to the fans that fight was allowed to happen.

I remember after either McGregor vs. Poirier 3 or Ngannou v. Gane Big John McCarthy said on his podcast the fighters have to submit a sworn statement to whatever commission is managing the event listing injuries they sustained or are currently dealing with. Did Dillashaw not disclose that injury before the fight? Dana is claiming they didn't know but Dana may be relying on semantics with that claim ("Mark Zuckerberg didn't rent out the Apex you fools!")

It really suck what happened but I'm also not sure where to draw the line here. Ngannou fought with a destroyed knee which no one knew about until we saw him wearing the knee wraps in the octagon and won. Did TJ's team think he could battle through the shoulder problems and grind out a win or did they just want to show up and get paid?

I think TJ a) wanted to get paid b) knew this was probably his last title shot opportunity c) thought maybe he could land a big right hand or kick to get a KO. Foolish if you ask me and as a fan it was a big let down, but I guess I can understand from his point of view.

I don't know if the UFC knew or not. Could be Dana lying or it could be the differences in the UAE commission. Who f***ing knows what the commission is in UAE. They might not require that same sworn statement, don't do anything with that information, don't have any way to enforce it if a fighter lies, or it was done by the book and just never got back to the UFC/Dana.

 

[m9]

I thought it was complete garbage by Dillashaw. Lots of people after the fight saluting his toughness and yeah that's fine.. but it's pretty sleazy what he did.

He got suspended and then got this title fight based off a really close decision. Now he's hiding an injury and wasting everyone's time? Come on. We missed out on Jose Aldo's title shot for that?

I don't really blame the commission. The guy has a shoulder that pops out sometimes - I don't see how the commission would be able to know anything about that as I'm sure he was fine for whatever tests are required. I've played hockey with guys who had a similar shoulder thing and would be fine and then every 15-20 games it would pop out during the game and they would be out a week or whatever. Would be super easy to hide that injury for a day. This is 100% on Dillashaw and his camp.

I do wonder about the extent of the conversations between Dillashaw & the UFC. I've kind it envisioned in my head where maybe he says something but they just ask him "are you going to be okay to fight?" and he just says yeah. The way he apologized to the division makes me think the UFC didn't have any idea about it or at least nowhere near to the extent of how bad it was.

I would say there should be protections in place here but I don't know how you enforce it. Easy enough for commission to fine the fighter half their purse or suspend them if they pull this stuff.. but then I think the fighter would just hide it.

Thanks TJ for making my Sterling by TKO at +1100 prediction correct though. First TKO in 8 years for Sterling - exactly how I thought it would happen! It's why the UFC/gambling thing is so weird. I saw a couple times that Dillashaw wanted to tap and then didn't. Can't throw in the towel, too obvious.

It's almost like he knew the fight would be called and it would end up a TKO. Those are some pretty good odds for a fighter and their camp..

 

[pistolpete11]

I thought it was complete garbage by Dillashaw. Lots of people after the fight saluting his toughness and yeah that's fine.. but it's pretty sleazy what he did.

He got suspended and then got this title fight based off a really close decision. Now he's hiding an injury and wasting everyone's time? Come on. We missed out on Jose Aldo's title shot for that?

I don't really blame the commission. The guy has a shoulder that pops out sometimes - I don't see how the commission would be able to know anything about that as I'm sure he was fine for whatever tests are required. I've played hockey with guys who had a similar shoulder thing and would be fine and then every 15-20 games it would pop out during the game and they would be out a week or whatever. Would be super easy to hide that injury for a day. This is 100% on Dillashaw and his camp.

I do wonder about the extent of the conversations between Dillashaw & the UFC. I've kind it envisioned in my head where maybe he says something but they just ask him "are you going to be okay to fight?" and he just says yeah. The way he apologized to the division makes me think the UFC didn't have any idea about it or at least nowhere near to the extent of how bad it was.

I would say there should be protections in place here but I don't know how you enforce it. Easy enough for commission to fine the fighter half their purse or suspend them if they pull this stuff.. but then I think the fighter would just hide it.

Thanks TJ for making my Sterling by TKO at +1100 prediction correct though. First TKO in 8 years for Sterling - exactly how I thought it would happen! It's why the UFC/gambling thing is so weird. I saw a couple times that Dillashaw wanted to tap and then didn't. Can't throw in the towel, too obvious.

It's almost like he knew the fight would be called and it would end up a TKO. Those are some pretty good odds for a fighter and their camp..

I don't like what TJ did, but I can understand it from his perspective.

The bigger controversy is if the UFC or the commission knew about it.

How great would O’Malley-Sandhagen be?

This would be a great fight, but I think they should do O'Malley-Chito 2.

 

[pistolpete11]

 

[m9]

Entertaining enough video but I don't know how much of it really applies to TJ.

He's in a spot in the UFC where he could have pulled out and would have still gotten that title fight when he came back. He even had a second chance to pull out when they moved this card out of Vegas for Diaz/Chimaev. If he needed the money, then fair enough. That's the only part that adds up.

I still think placing any blame on the doctors or the medical screening doesn't make sense in this situation because of the nature of the injury.

 

[pistolpete11]

He's in a spot in the UFC where he could have pulled out and would have still gotten that title fight when he came back. He even had a second chance to pull out when they moved this card out of Vegas for Diaz/Chimaev. If he needed the money, then fair enough. That's the only part that adds up.

I don't think you can say that with any type of certainty whatsoever. Luke Thomas talked about it in his live chat immediately after the card. TJ's shoulder is f***ed. He's going to need another surgery and be severely limited when he comes back. By the time he could get back, he would be 37, have been off for another 2 years, only had 1 split decision win in the last 4 years, and bantamweight is not starved for young, deserving, stars in the making like O'Malley, Chito, Merab, Yan, Sandhagen. He could very easily be passed over by these guys, be forced to fight someone else and at his age and with his shoulder, could (if not likely) lose that fight and then he never fights for the title again.

I still think placing any blame on the doctors or the medical screening doesn't make sense in this situation because of the nature of the injury.

If he told them his shoulder has been dislocated 20 times in the last 6 months and they let him fight, they absolutely deserve blame. I doubt TJ told them anything let alone the extent of it, but that's where the controversy would be if he did.

 

[m9]

I don't think you can say that with any type of certainty whatsoever. Luke Thomas talked about it in his live chat immediately after the card. TJ's shoulder is f***ed. He's going to need another surgery and be severely limited when he comes back. By the time he could get back, he would be 37, have been off for another 2 years, only had 1 split decision win in the last 4 years, and bantamweight is not starved for young, deserving, stars in the making like O'Malley, Chito, Merab, Yan, Sandhagen. He could very easily be passed over by these guys, be forced to fight someone else and at his age and with his shoulder, could (if not likely) lose that fight and then he never fights for the title again.


If he told them his shoulder has been dislocated 20 times in the last 6 months and they let him fight, they absolutely deserve blame. I doubt TJ told them anything let alone the extent of it, but that's where the controversy would be if he did.

That's fair he may not have gotten the next shot, but at very most he's one fight away again. Plus he had zero chance of winning the fight on Saturday - I would rather take my chances of getting that future title fight vs a guaranteed loss.

As for the doctor - doubt he said anything.

 

[CDJ]

I’ve been watching Islam interviews and he’s kinda hilarious