Honestly, nothing makes sense with fight selections anyway. Why did Conor even get a rematch with the solid dismantling he got before Dustin had a chance to fight for the title? Why did Michael Chandler have a shot at the title? Although, he put on a hell of a show and I think he’d take Conor apart too, along with Gaethje, Islam, and others.
I understand the temptation to do meaningless rematches. The prevalence of those in the UFC only makes the absence of a McGregor v. Aldo rematch more astounding to me.
I think the selections make more sense when you look through the lens of the average person who tunes in for a fight and not the lens of the people on this thread. Dana’s need to sell makes for really unnatural match-ups and non-linear progressions for fighters IMO.
Separate but related point: I hope to one day see a UFC with no separations or stand-ups.
It just goes to show that Dana is full of crap when he says the ufc is not run like the wwe or boxing.
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You could always watch those first few UFCs.
To what extent.
I mean the fights are not scripted.
The business side of things clearly comes first in nearly every match made.
There are many instances of this.
Did Dan Henderson deserve a title shot against Bisping? Did GSP?
No they didn’t.
You could make the argument Jorge Masvidal didn’t deserve one title shot let alone two. But there was money to be made with that match up.
Putting Adesanya in front of Glover to fight Jan. That was complete bullshit.
I think flappinit makes good points about CM.
I feel your a little bit unfair in your criticism of him.
I think speculating about who came from a rougher background is of little merit. Same with who works harder.
I understand your argument but its mostly conjecture as we don’t see the actual training camp.
They didn’t run the Aldo fight back probably cause of Connors trajectory he fought Alvarez then Floyd. That was like a two or three year derailment. It takes two. Aldo probably didn’t push for it that hard.
Either way. CM has faded. He should have went back to 145 when he came back never fought Khabib. I think his skill and physical traits were better suited for 145. Although I don’t think he could take Holloway or Volko.
His time is done. He should step away. His legacy is still intact. He lost to the best. It will be sad to see him spiral down further and further. But how often do fighters know when to quit and I think he loves the attention too much and his ego is too big.
I would love this. I wish they would go back to a tournament format. No stand ups and no time limits.
Of course there is no market for that. Would really fuck with their business model.
Tai Tuivasa! He is genuinely having fun and enjoying the moment, no minimum bullshit there.
I have so much admiration for people like him.
True, but I had something in the future in mind. Not holding out hope for anything before UFC 600 though. Figure by that time enough people will have embraced the sport to appreciate it on merit. I’ll die happy in my nursing home bed watching a one-dimensional striker get held down for 15 minutes with the person in the next bed shouting at me to turn it down.
It’s not speculation as we know their backgrounds. And we can see what the results of not working hard are.
We do see the results of the training. We also now what goes on in training because people inside talk. We know who the people Conor trains with are. We know who no longer trains with him.
He pushed for it.
Could it be for the reasons mentioned? Mayweather has more money than Conor yet he showed up in shape for his fights and won. Cristiano Ronaldo has more money and fame than Conor has, or will ever have, he is also at an age when most footballers have retired. Yet, he is always fit and still performs at a high level. Michael Jordan, also wealthier and more famous than Conor, didn’t rest on his pile of money but worked hard to keep winning titles. The truly great athletes had the desire and pride to maintain a standard of excellence.
Believe whatever narrative you want.
As for Aldo. If he really wanted it he could have had it here:
RDA pulled out. Aldo was offered fight. He turned it down. Diaz stepped in. The rest is history.
Plenty of people work hard and come up short. Working hard does not = coming out on top. Thats faulty logic.
People are built differently. You can work hard and never have the gas tank Floyd or others have because thats just not how your built. You can work at it. Same with strength. Same with knock out power.
I do not think he has faded because he doesn’t work ‘hard’. I think there are many reasons. And I’ve shared them.
To be fair, Aldo was being asked to step in as a short notice replacement three months after the KO loss in a division he’d never competed in before in the UFC, IIRC. The RDA fight was cancelled in late February for an early March card.
He works comfortable. This is why he tends to break and look for a way out when things get uncomfortable. You take most people who do BJJ for years. They will tell you they got used to getting smashed when they started. Conor has never gone through that process. watch what he does when someone applies a choke, he doesn’t even try and defend. Why? Because he never developed the defensive/survival instincts that come from getting smashed.
And Aldo was given short notice, which never should have happened as he was a former champ who deserved a proper rematch. But this was the UFC gaming things for Conor again.
Sure.
I appreciate your point. And know from personal experience what its like acclimating to getting “smashed”.
But thats a process everyone goes through. There is a hierarchy of skill and most of us usually start at the bottom and work are way to the top.
He has defended plenty of submissions. I think in the case of Diaz Vs McGregor #1 he gassed himself and got rocked and was nearly incapacitated.
You say this:
But Conor fighting Diaz 25 lbs heavier than what he normally fights (He had fought his first 7 fights at featherweight) at in my opinion is hardly gaming it for him. Being scheduled to fight RDA at 155. He pulls out and getting Diaz at 170. And he was still game. Diaz is an always dangerous fighter. Which we’ve recently just seen.
But hey doesn’t matter at all.
Conor has one more maybe two more high profile fights left and thats it and I don’t see him winning either of those to be honest.
I truly think they could rematch DP and obviously trilogy against Diaz.
What I am more interested in though is DP winning that title and rematching Justin Gaejthe.
I think DP decisively smashes Charles Oliviera.
Yeah perhaps but I believe zecarlo is being unfairly critical of CM.
I maintain Aldo did not push that hard for the rematch. Perhaps at first it was discussed but both of their trajectories went in opposite directions so the stars never aligned.
Conor didn’t complain about size whenever he reminded other featherweights they were smaller than he was. When he fights someone his size suddenly size matters.
Aldo was never getting a rematch. He doesn’t speak English which is something the UFC has always had an issue with when it comes to fighters. Dana knows the average UFC fan is a moron who doesn’t care about sport but just wants to see violence. Hence the boos when a fight goes to the ground. The majority of UFC fights are basically poor boxing or kickboxing because the fans want to see KOs. There’s a reason why Conor, who is not nor ever will be the GOAT, made more money than Khabib in spite of Khabib being the champion and GOAT.
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Preach
Well that was him shit talking as usual.
I also have said multiple times he should have stayed at featherweight. Maybe that was just unfeasible. He is just a tad too big for featherweight and in my opinion a bit too small for lightweight.
Diaz is not his size. I know Diaz has made 155 but he is way bigger. Which is why I give credit for CM agreeing to fight at 170 against him. That was a challenging match up with a lot of unknowns but he took it anyways.
GOAT status is a stupid thing to argue about. I think it detracts from a lot of fighters who have eras in their career where they were untouchable but later fight past their prime or go on a skid and have that imperfect record which clearly is what GOAT status is about right?
Feydo was in discussion as GOAT for longest time. Not anymore. Many examples of this.
But yeah I’ve never said Conor is the GOAT. But undeniably a great talent and had the right combination of traits to become a super star. He has had a great MMA career and put on great performances. The way he won his titles. Was simply amazing. Made it look so easy.
Also Khabib doesn’t get GOAT statues in my book. Maybe top 5. There are a lot of fighters who have some L’s who are above him in my opinion.
Oh yeah you like what he’s saying. Make you have warm fuzzies all over?
I mean, yeah pretty much. Mostly about how Dana caters to people who don’t appreciate the sport though. Not really taking a side on the whole CM thing.
Diaz is also a gatekeeper at best with pillow fists.
I have a problem with that statement. And not just because its a classic straw man.
You are probably right. But he is still a great fighter who is incredibly exciting. I mean he won TUF 5. Fought for lightweight title. A total of 15 post fight bonuses.
Pillow fists that almost slept Leon Edwards. Also, the Diaz brothers have always been volume punchers. Nothing wrong with that.
If the UFC kept the weight classes but went back to tournament format with no timed rounds and only KO/Submission stoppages the Diaz brothers would have won a few tournaments.
OK?
But no belts to show for it.
If, doesn’t win titles.