GDT: UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee

LSCII

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So Lee misses weight after a hard cut and then goes out and stomps Barboza in impressive fashion. Much more impressive than Khabib's win over Barboza, IMO. And the real difference is that Lee got the finish, while Khabib tapped Edson repeatedly with jabs for 3 rounds, but never came close to finishing anything.
 

m9

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Barbosa and Cub are similar to me. Both really good fighters, but are a weapon or 2 from being championship caliber guys. With Barbosa, it's any semblance of a ground game. With Cub, I'm not sure what it is. I think in this fight he was too worried about Frankie's wrestling so he didn't let his hands go.

They aren't really similar at all, other than both being high-end fighters that probably won't ever get a title. Barboza has one skill he is extremely good at but will always run into trouble against high-end wrestlers. Swanson is extremely well-rounded, but doesn't have the one skill that will win him fights against top guys.

Did that kick really rock Lee or was he trying to trap Barboza?

He was definitely rocked.
 

m9

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I'm not the biggest fan of Lee for a variety of reasons, but this was a great performance.

It sets up a pretty interesting mess at the top of 155. You have Conor, Khabib, Ferguson, Alvarez, Poirer, and Lee. Either Alvarez or Poirer makes the most sense next for Lee, but Alvarez v Poirer 2 makes even more sense. Hopefully they can get some fights booked quickly to clean it all up. Barboza v Gaethje probably makes the most sense for them, and that's about as fun of a fight you can get for two guys that have each lost their last two fights.

Edgar did what he had to do. With Aldo/Stephens already booked, I hope Edgar can come back in July and be ready in case Max or Ortega fall out. Not sure on his status, but a fight against Darren Elkins makes sense for me.

Big wins for both Branch and Sterling in fights I wasn't sure were going to go their way. I don't think Branch cracks the top of the division, but he's going to stick around. Sterling looked excellent.
 

pistolpete11

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Did that kick really rock Lee or was he trying to trap Barboza?
He was absolutely rocked.

So Lee misses weight after a hard cut and then goes out and stomps Barboza in impressive fashion. Much more impressive than Khabib's win over Barboza, IMO. And the real difference is that Lee got the finish, while Khabib tapped Edson repeatedly with jabs for 3 rounds, but never came close to finishing anything.
It took Lee 3+ rounds to finish him, though. Who knows if Khabib would have finished it in the 4th if it was a 5 round fight. Many people thought that Barbosa's corner should have thrown in the towel against Khabib anyway. You could also make the case that Lee almost got finished himself (within the 3rd round) whereas Khabib was never in any danger.

Really though, it's splitting hairs. Both guys kicked the shit out of Barbosa.

They aren't really similar at all, other than both being high-end fighters that probably won't ever get a title. Barboza has one skill he is extremely good at but will always run into trouble against high-end wrestlers. Swanson is extremely well-rounded, but doesn't have the one skill that will win him fights against top guys.
That's exactly the point I made ("Both really good fighters, but are a weapon or 2 from being championship caliber guys.").
 

pistolpete11

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I'm not the biggest fan of Lee for a variety of reasons, but this was a great performance.

It sets up a pretty interesting mess at the top of 155. You have Conor, Khabib, Ferguson, Alvarez, Poirer, and Lee. Either Alvarez or Poirer makes the most sense next for Lee, but Alvarez v Poirer 2 makes even more sense. Hopefully they can get some fights booked quickly to clean it all up. Barboza v Gaethje probably makes the most sense for them, and that's about as fun of a fight you can get for two guys that have each lost their last two fights.

Edgar did what he had to do. With Aldo/Stephens already booked, I hope Edgar can come back in July and be ready in case Max or Ortega fall out. Not sure on his status, but a fight against Darren Elkins makes sense for me.

Big wins for both Branch and Sterling in fights I wasn't sure were going to go their way. I don't think Branch cracks the top of the division, but he's going to stick around. Sterling looked excellent.
The 155lb division is a wonderfully interesting mess. I think we see Khabib vs. Conor at MSG in November. That fight will probably be the best selling UFC PPV ever. In the meantime, they have to find a way to sort out Eddie, Dustin, and Lee. Not sure how to do that. I'd say Eddie vs. Dustin 2. Winner gets a shot at the title. Loser fights Lee. If Lee wins, he gets the next title shot. If Eddie/Dustin wins, then who the hell knows. Of course injuries and Tony coming back will throw wrenches into it anyway.

I think Frankie takes time off and gets the next title shot. He deserves it IMO for taking the Ortega fight when Max got hurt. Most fighters wouldn't have given up a title shot for that. I think everyone (Max, Ortega, Dana, the fans, everyone) respect the hell out of him for that and would give him another shot. He need this win to get back in line, but I think he jumps to the front based on that situation. I agree I hope he's ready if Max or Ortega have to back out.
 

m9

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The 155lb division is a wonderfully interesting mess. I think we see Khabib vs. Conor at MSG in November. That fight will probably be the best selling UFC PPV ever. In the meantime, they have to find a way to sort out Eddie, Dustin, and Lee. Not sure how to do that. I'd say Eddie vs. Dustin 2. Winner gets a shot at the title. Loser fights Lee. If Lee wins, he gets the next title shot. If Eddie/Dustin wins, then who the hell knows. Of course injuries and Tony coming back will throw wrenches into it anyway.

I think Frankie takes time off and gets the next title shot. He deserves it IMO for taking the Ortega fight when Max got hurt. Most fighters wouldn't have given up a title shot for that. I think everyone (Max, Ortega, Dana, the fans, everyone) respect the hell out of him for that and would give him another shot. He need this win to get back in line, but I think he jumps to the front based on that situation. I agree I hope he's ready if Max or Ortega have to back out.

Personally if Conor is back, I'd have him fight Nate @ 170 to end that trilogy and do Khabib v Ferguson. Diaz is a much easier fight for Conor to come back to and is probably a bigger PPV fight anyway.

Eddie v Dustin 2 sounds good to me as well. Lee gets left out, but that's the price for missing weight.

No idea if Edgar wants time off, obviously if he does that's fine. That title fight isn't until July though, and if he waits around he might be looking at the end of the year. I think Elkins is a fairly easy style matchup for him and is a great fight to stay active before November/December.
 

Avs_19

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Diaz will get his big payday if/when he fights Conor again but I think he screwed his situation up. He has been gone for far too long and IMO, the Conor vs. Khabib fight is now the biggest one the UFC can make. If Conor wants no part of Khabib then that's great for Diaz but otherwise, I don't think he can just sit there and assume he's the biggest money fight. People don't even mention Diaz anymore when talking about the top of the division and potential big fights.
 

m9

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Diaz will get his big payday if/when he fights Conor again but I think he screwed his situation up. He has been gone for far too long and IMO, the Conor vs. Khabib fight is now the biggest one the UFC can make. If Conor wants no part of Khabib then that's great for Diaz but otherwise, I don't think he can just sit there and assume he's the biggest money fight. People don't even mention Diaz anymore when talking about the top of the division and potential big fights.

I don't think Diaz screwed anything up. The way to screw it up would have been him fighting two other top guys at 170lbs and getting completely exposed, which is probably what would have happened if he had taken any fights.

Conor v Khabib is the biggest fight for who? Certainly not for PPV draws.

Diaz was never really mentioned at the top of the division or for big fights before the Conor fights either. Doesn't matter, he already beat McGregor and then had a classic fight vs him - he has his golden ticket for Rd 3 whether it happens this year or in 3 years.
 

LSCII

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If McGregor fought Diaz again, it would be at LW, not 170. As for who McGregor fights, it's going to do huge PPV numbers regardless.
 

pistolpete11

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Personally if Conor is back, I'd have him fight Nate @ 170 to end that trilogy and do Khabib v Ferguson. Diaz is a much easier fight for Conor to come back to and is probably a bigger PPV fight anyway.

Eddie v Dustin 2 sounds good to me as well. Lee gets left out, but that's the price for missing weight.

No idea if Edgar wants time off, obviously if he does that's fine. That title fight isn't until July though, and if he waits around he might be looking at the end of the year. I think Elkins is a fairly easy style matchup for him and is a great fight to stay active before November/December.
I think Tony is out too long term. It will be too long to not have Khabib fight. If not Conor, I think Khabib needs to fight Eddie, Dustin, or Lee. Maybe do Eddie vs. Dustin in July/August and the winner vs. Khabib in November/December.

I'd love to see Conor-Nate 3, but at the same time, I hate these super fights that don't really make sense. Get on with the division. If they do fight, I want it to be at 155lb. Nate's fought almost his entire career at 155 and that's where Conor should be. That's where both should be fighting.

Frankie said he wants the winner of Max/Ortega. I'm sure he knows when that fight is, so I think he's willing to wait (and/or jump in if one of those guys drops out).

Diaz will get his big payday if/when he fights Conor again but I think he screwed his situation up. He has been gone for far too long and IMO, the Conor vs. Khabib fight is now the biggest one the UFC can make. If Conor wants no part of Khabib then that's great for Diaz but otherwise, I don't think he can just sit there and assume he's the biggest money fight. People don't even mention Diaz anymore when talking about the top of the division and potential big fights.

I think it hasn't worked out great for Nate since Conor has been MIA in MMA for so long, but I think waiting for the 3rd fight with Conor was the right decision. He's a .500 fighter. If he comes back and loses, then I think the interest in the Conor fight goes down some and/or makes it a hard sell for the UFC to even make that fight. If he waits and gets the fight with Conor, it can be hyped as the trilogy, his return, and depending on what Conor does, Conor's return. That would be a huge fight. Probably bigger than Khabib-Conor.

Nate's been in the news enough where he hasn't been forgotten, though. There was the Woodley rumors (which made no sense). Eddie has been calling him out. He's been talking shit about a lot of guys. He's a fan favorite who's famous with casual fans after the Conor fights. Whenever he comes back, it's going to be a big fight. How big depends on if it is Conor or not.
I don't think Diaz screwed anything up. The way to screw it up would have been him fighting two other top guys at 170lbs and getting completely exposed, which is probably what would have happened if he had taken any fights.

Conor v Khabib is the biggest fight for who? Certainly not for PPV draws.

Diaz was never really mentioned at the top of the division or for big fights before the Conor fights either. Doesn't matter, he already beat McGregor and then had a classic fight vs him - he has his golden ticket for Rd 3 whether it happens this year or in 3 years.
The only rumor about him fighting at 170lb was Woodley and that would have been a no-lose situation for him. He's a 155lber who would have gone up to challenge for a belt. It would have been a decently big fight and if he won, it would have made the Conor trilogy....HUGE... If he lost (which he almost certainly would have), oh well. He's not a 170lber. As long as he doesn't get embarrassed, it still keeps the trilogy with Conor in play and gets him back in the octagon.
 

Avs_19

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I don't think Diaz screwed anything up. The way to screw it up would have been him fighting two other top guys at 170lbs and getting completely exposed, which is probably what would have happened if he had taken any fights.

Conor v Khabib is the biggest fight for who? Certainly not for PPV draws.

Diaz was never really mentioned at the top of the division or for big fights before the Conor fights either. Doesn't matter, he already beat McGregor and then had a classic fight vs him - he has his golden ticket for Rd 3 whether it happens this year or in 3 years.

The reason I say he might've screwed things up is because he's still waiting for Conor but what if they do the Khabib fight in November? Is he then going to wait until spring 2019 (at the earliest), which will be close to three years since he last competed? There's also the possibility of Conor losing badly to Khabib or just deciding to take more time off or do something else regardless of a win/loss. There are a lot of what ifs in play there but it's all possible. Diaz better hope Conor wants to fight him next or else he's going to be stuck waiting. I believe Conor vs. Khabib is the biggest potential PPV fight because of everything that happened in NY.

I also view Diaz as a LW regardless of where his last two fights were and I think Conor even said their next fight would be at LW. Diaz was offered Ferguson and Alvarez for sure and probably some other guys. He's likely an underdog going in but those are winnable fights for him.
 

m9

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If McGregor fought Diaz again, it would be at LW, not 170. As for who McGregor fights, it's going to do huge PPV numbers regardless.

Could be at either weight, who cares. If there's no belt on the line, I'd rather fighters didn't waste their time/energy dehydrating and just fight at the higher weight.

As for PPV #'s, I bet Diaz does at least 25% more than a Khabib fight v Conor.

I think Tony is out too long term. It will be too long to not have Khabib fight. If not Conor, I think Khabib needs to fight Eddie, Dustin, or Lee. Maybe do Eddie vs. Dustin in July/August and the winner vs. Khabib in November/December.

I'd love to see Conor-Nate 3, but at the same time, I hate these super fights that don't really make sense. Get on with the division. If they do fight, I want it to be at 155lb. Nate's fought almost his entire career at 155 and that's where Conor should be. That's where both should be fighting.

Frankie said he wants the winner of Max/Ortega. I'm sure he knows when that fight is, so I think he's willing to wait (and/or jump in if one of those guys drops out).



I think it hasn't worked out great for Nate since Conor has been MIA in MMA for so long, but I think waiting for the 3rd fight with Conor was the right decision. He's a .500 fighter. If he comes back and loses, then I think the interest in the Conor fight goes down some and/or makes it a hard sell for the UFC to even make that fight. If he waits and gets the fight with Conor, it can be hyped as the trilogy, his return, and depending on what Conor does, Conor's return. That would be a huge fight. Probably bigger than Khabib-Conor.

Nate's been in the news enough where he hasn't been forgotten, though. There was the Woodley rumors (which made no sense). Eddie has been calling him out. He's been talking **** about a lot of guys. He's a fan favorite who's famous with casual fans after the Conor fights. Whenever he comes back, it's going to be a big fight. How big depends on if it is Conor or not.

The only rumor about him fighting at 170lb was Woodley and that would have been a no-lose situation for him. He's a 155lber who would have gone up to challenge for a belt. It would have been a decently big fight and if he won, it would have made the Conor trilogy....HUGE... If he lost (which he almost certainly would have), oh well. He's not a 170lber. As long as he doesn't get embarrassed, it still keeps the trilogy with Conor in play and gets him back in the octagon.

Who cares what they fight at? It isn't for a belt, they can fight at whatever weight they want. Having these guys needlessly drain themselves with a weight cut is useless.

Agreed with Nate, though I do think he would have gotten beaten by Woodley pretty badly. The Conor fight still sells, but it isn't ideal.

The reason I say he might've screwed things up is because he's still waiting for Conor but what if they do the Khabib fight in November? Is he then going to wait until spring 2019 (at the earliest), which will be close to three years since he last competed? There's also the possibility of Conor losing badly to Khabib or just deciding to take more time off or do something else regardless of a win/loss. There are a lot of what ifs in play there but it's all possible. Diaz better hope Conor wants to fight him next or else he's going to be stuck waiting. I believe Conor vs. Khabib is the biggest potential PPV fight because of everything that happened in NY.

I also view Diaz as a LW regardless of where his last two fights were and I think Conor even said their next fight would be at LW. Diaz was offered Ferguson and Alvarez for sure and probably some other guys. He's likely an underdog going in but those are winnable fights for him.

Sure, but you essentially are saying that some things could happen in the future to screw up Nate.. nothing has actually happened yet. Getting killed by Woodley or losing a couple of other fights would have really screwed things up for Nate. As it is, nothing has happened.
 

pistolpete11

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The reason I say he might've screwed things up is because he's still waiting for Conor but what if they do the Khabib fight in November? Is he then going to wait until spring 2019 (at the earliest), which will be close to three years since he last competed? There's also the possibility of Conor losing badly to Khabib or just deciding to take more time off or do something else regardless of a win/loss. There are a lot of what ifs in play there but it's all possible. Diaz better hope Conor wants to fight him next or else he's going to be stuck waiting. I believe Conor vs. Khabib is the biggest potential PPV fight because of everything that happened in NY.

I also view Diaz as a LW regardless of where his last two fights were and I think Conor even said their next fight would be at LW. Diaz was offered Ferguson and Alvarez for sure and probably some other guys. He's likely an underdog going in but those are winnable fights for him.
Nate waiting is a risk too, but if he comes back and loses a couple of fights for way less money, then there goes the chance at the Conor payday.

I actually think if Conor loses, that's Nate's best chance at getting the trilogy. Conor is only going to fight big money fights. If he wins the belt back, it would be a hard sell for the UFC to give Nate a title shot (unless it is as a last minute replacement). If Conor loses, he's still going to be looking for the biggest money fight he can find. In that case, Nate makes a lot of sense with $$$ and it's not a big stretch in terms of the division.

I agree. Nate is a LW and ranked as such. I drives me crazy when people make such a big deal about Conor fighting Nate at 170lb. They are both LW. The only reason it happened at 170lbs was because Nate couldn't make 155lbs on such short notice and Conor demanded it for the rematch. Nate's the bigger guy, but not by that much. Conor looked like he was on death's door to make 145lbs. Both are and should be LW.

Who cares what they fight at? It isn't for a belt, they can fight at whatever weight they want. Having these guys needlessly drain themselves with a weight cut is useless.

Agreed with Nate, though I do think he would have gotten beaten by Woodley pretty badly. The Conor fight still sells, but it isn't ideal.
Well, I'm not a huge fan of 'money fights' for the sake of money fights. I understand that is the world that we live in now and yeah, I'm going to watch them anyway. But I'd prefer for any fights that happen to advance the division. Conor-Nate 3 might not really make sense in the LW division right now, but it's at least closer than them fighting at WW.

I know Dana said it was never offered, but if it was, I think Nate knows Woodley is likely to smash him. How does Nate pull off a win against Woodley? Maybe by submission? He doesn't really have KO power. Woodley largely avoided Wonderboy's striking for 10 rounds. I'm sure he could avoid Nate. Woodley hits like a truck, is really smart (arguably too smart that his fights can be boring), is the larger guy, and a better wrestler. IF it was offered, maybe Nate said the money wasn't worth it to take that beating and potentially lose the trilogy.
 

McDrailers

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As for PPV #'s, I bet Diaz does at least 25% more than a Khabib fight v Cono

With all the shit talking and the dicussion about the "bus incident". No way. It really doesn't matter who Conors return fight is, its going to make bank. Personally I'd like to see Khabib and Conor more than.
 

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