The MMA thread

Dirty Schwein said:
We all love football but can't all be footballers.

MMA is expensive and time consuming to even take up as a hobby, which is not gonna happen for someone like me who is a father to two.

With football, you just book a pitch, pay a fiver and it only takes an hour out of your time. It helps that I learned the fundamentals playing it since I was like 6.

As for weight cutting, I do Ramadan once a year... feck that!

If MMA was something I knew about as a youngster, I may have taken up. At 34? No chance :lol:
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One of the hardest parts aswell would be making a big gym accepting you. For everyone that a Tristar or a SBG accepts, they refuse a hundred requests probably.
 
Luke1995 said:
I never really thought Burns had a chance to beat Usman.

Toughest matchup for Usman could be a much improved Edwards
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I think Khamzat down the line could be the guy to take the throne. Big welterweight, extremely accomplished grappler, confident guy with legit punching power.

Shame the Edwards fight is off again. He's looked absolutely dominant so far but needs a proper opponent to put himself in title contention anytime soon.

Other than that, personally think what the Burns fight might have shown is an excellent striker with variety and speed who can change levels and find angles might give him trouble. Not sure there's a guy who really fits that category amongst the current contenders though.
 
DannyCAFC said:
I think Khamzat down the line could be the guy to take the throne. Big welterweight, extremely accomplished grappler, confident guy with legit punching power.

Shame the Edwards fight is off again. He's looked absolutely dominant so far but needs a proper opponent to put himself in title contention anytime soon.

Other than that, personally think what the Burns fight might have shown is an excellent striker with variety and speed who can change levels and find angles might give him trouble. Not sure there's a guy who really fits that category amongst the current contenders though.
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I would like to see Wonderboy take on Usman. He's not that easy to hold down and i'm not sure Usman would be able to keep hitting him.
 
George Owen said:


Good luck in retirement, fellow red.
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Wishing all the best for him but I wish he had learned how to use his lenght...

Just imagine a guy that big picking apart opponents at range. He would've been a massive star

That said, he still had a good career
 
Welterweight is a fecking mess right now. Just make Edwards fight Thompson and Masvidal fight Covington and be done with it. Usman has more wins against the top 5 than the top 5 have fights against each other FFS. Edwards is a bitch for saying that Thompson needs a win to fight him and then accepting the Chimaev fight. The fact is that Edwards knows that if he can't take Thompson down then he is going to have the shit beaten out of him on the feet and Masvidal knows that Colby will feck him up too. Just make the guys fight each other. This isn't boxing, you shouldn't get to pick fights FFS.

Also Usman saying that he would only move up if Izzy stays at LHW because he wants African champions is hilarious. First of all Izzy would kill him but if Izzy vacates then Whittaker would absolutely destroy Usman with barely breaking a sweat. Rob was built to beat wrestlers like Usman. Just be honest and say you couldn't win the MW belt. The UFC has become too much of a drama show lately with fighters picking fights. Whittaker is about to fight his 3rd top 5 opponent since losing to Izzy to earn a shot he already earned. More fighters need to be like him.
 
kidbob said:
Welterweight is a fecking mess right now. Just make Edwards fight Thompson and Masvidal fight Covington and be done with it. Usman has more wins against the top 5 than the top 5 have fights against each other FFS. Edwards is a bitch for saying that Thompson needs a win to fight him and then accepting the Chimaev fight. The fact is that Edwards knows that if he can't take Thompson down then he is going to have the shit beaten out of him on the feet and Masvidal knows that Colby will feck him up too. Just make the guys fight each other. This isn't boxing, you shouldn't get to pick fights FFS.

Also Usman saying that he would only move up if Izzy stays at LHW because he wants African champions is hilarious. First of all Izzy would kill him but if Izzy vacates then Whittaker would absolutely destroy Usman with barely breaking a sweat. Rob was built to beat wrestlers like Usman. Just be honest and say you couldn't win the MW belt. The UFC has become too much of a drama show lately with fighters picking fights. Whittaker is about to fight his 3rd top 5 opponent since losing to Izzy to earn a shot he already earned. More fighters need to be like him.
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I see what you're saying but fighters get more power in negotiations the more popular the sport gets. Also, this is partly the UFCs own fault.

Cody, with zero title defenses, gets knocked out cold, gets an instant rematch.

Aldo, one of the longest streaks in UFC gets knocked out cold, gets nothing.

Aldo loses to Marlon, then gets title shot.

Jones gets suspended for PEDs, comes back and gets title shot.

McGregor has zero fights at LW, his first fight there is a title shot.

The list goes on. The UFC isn't about getting merit fights the way it used to be. It's now about the fights that make the most money.

If the company behaves like this, fighters will always try to pick fights to serve their own interests.
 
Why are these guys getting to pick and choose their fights? Welterweight in particular is a joke right now. A fight should be made between Edwards and Thompson, with the winner going on to face Usman. Both are fresh match-ups for the champ (Edwards lost to him back in 2015) which is long enough. Edwards fighting Muhammad does nothing for him, surely he won't get a title fight off that. Masvidal getting a title shot just because Usman fancies another easy payday is silly and Covington refusing to fight anyone not named Usman or Masvidal is even sillier. Newsflash, Colby, you're not a big name, you can't call the shots.

Given the state the division is in right now, I would be tempted to just book Chiesa vs. Thompson as a #1 contenders fight. Neither guy is gonna make a fuss or cause drama, just show up and fight and earn a title fight. I've had enough of diva behaviour from Covington and Masvidal.
 
It's a weird situation this.

On one hand this thread has complained plenty in the past of fighters being underpaid/know their worth etc. They seemingly then say they don't want to fight and you'd imagine some of that is down to money and then they're blamed for messing up the division.

I think most fighters would fight others if the money was right but it's not. Edwards vs Thompson as an example is a bigger and better fight than Muhammed but I bet he was offered the exact same money so why not take the "easier" or "lesser" fight. Of course this can backfire miserably if they lose.
 
Oggmonster said:
It's a weird situation this.

On one hand this thread has complained plenty in the past of fighters being underpaid/know their worth etc. They seemingly then say they don't want to fight and you'd imagine some of that is down to money and then they're blamed for messing up the division.

I think most fighters would fight others if the money was right but it's not. Edwards vs Thompson as an example is a bigger and better fight than Muhammed but I bet he was offered the exact same money so why not take the "easier" or "lesser" fight. Of course this can backfire miserably if they lose.
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Because a win over Thompson gets him a title fight (way more money) & a win over Muhammad doesn’t. Thompson is a much bigger name than himself & Muhammad, a win over him does a lot for Leon’s record & will put more eyes on him. Beating Muhammad will go under the radar.
 
I am pretty sure Edwards vs Wonderboy would have happened but Wonderboy was not ready to fight in a couple of weeks and won't be returning until May or June when his hands have healed. I can't really blame Edwards for demanding a fight in March. He's been out of the octagon for so long and is just desperate to fight at this point. I thought Colby might step in but it seems he didn't want the fight either.

Masvidal and Colby is absolutely the fight to book but street Jesus doesn't seem to fancy it. It's really those two who don't seem willing and able to fight the other contenders... or each other annoyingly.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
The UFC isn't about getting merit fights the way it used to be. It's now about the fights that make the most money.
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Its been like this most of the time. No way Brock Lenser deserved a shot after losing to Mir. That was about 12 - 13 years ago.
 
ZupZup said:
I am pretty sure Edwards vs Wonderboy would have happened but Wonderboy was not ready to fight in a couple of weeks and won't be returning until May or June when his hands have healed. I can't really blame Edwards for demanding a fight in March. He's been out of the octagon for so long and is just desperate to fight at this point. I thought Colby might step in but it seems he didn't want the fight either.

Masvidal and Colby is absolutely the fight to book but street Jesus doesn't seem to fancy it. It's really those two who don't seem willing and able to fight the other contenders... or each other annoyingly.
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That's what Edwards said in his interview with Helwani, they mentioned Wonderboy and someone else and how they were injured so weren't an option for the March card which he's understandably desperate to stay on. He wanted Colby but that obviously failed to materialize so he's had to take someone down the rankings just to get a fight in.
 
Schmeichel's Cartwheel said:
Because a win over Thompson gets him a title fight (way more money) & a win over Muhammad doesn’t. Thompson is a much bigger name than himself & Muhammad, a win over him does a lot for Leon’s record & will put more eyes on him. Beating Muhammad will go under the radar.
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Does it get them more money though? The constant talk is the UFC are basically fecking over fighters, then a fighter doesn't go along with it and now they're in the wrong. I'm sure there's been stories in the past of fighters not getting paid more for title fights etc as well. Didn't McGregor make that point with RDA? How he didn't get a deal worth his while to fight McGregor, I'm sure he said the same about Alvarez to.

From what we hear they are ridiculously underpaid, the UFC has already decided who they want as the next contender and they can't do anything about it anyway.

It seems Masvidal is next in line for the title shot, Edwards is no way going to get ahead of him in the queue as unfair as it is, so he might as well stay busy and fight Muahmmad and try and hope for a pull out in a big fight he can jump in to.
 
Oggmonster said:
Does it get them more money though? The constant talk is the UFC are basically fecking over fighters, then a fighter doesn't go along with it and now they're in the wrong. I'm sure there's been stories in the past of fighters not getting paid more for title fights etc as well. Didn't McGregor make that point with RDA? How he didn't get a deal worth his while to fight McGregor, I'm sure he said the same about Alvarez to.

From what we hear they are ridiculously underpaid, the UFC has already decided who they want as the next contender and they can't do anything about it anyway.

It seems Masvidal is next in line for the title shot, Edwards is no way going to get ahead of him in the queue as unfair as it is, so he might as well stay busy and fight Muahmmad and try and hope for a pull out in a big fight he can jump in to.
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A title challenger or PPV main event purse is much higher than a fight night main event or PPV main card purse. DC has talked about this with Helwani. Alvarez didn’t renegotiate his contract before fighting McGregor (dumb by him), but he was still paid more due to it being a title defence & a PPV main event. I’m not sure if he got PPV points or not, Usman mentioned recently that he does but past champions like Demetrius Johnson have said they didn’t, so I’m not sure, but you receive substantially more for title challenges than you do for standard fights. Colby Covington talked about making 4x more for the Usman fight then he did for the Lawler fight despite getting a win bonus against Lawler.
 
Schmeichel's Cartwheel said:
A title challenger or PPV main event purse is much higher than a fight night main event or PPV main card purse. DC has talked about this with Helwani. Alvarez didn’t renegotiate his contract before fighting McGregor (dumb by him), but he was still paid more due to it being a title defence & a PPV main event. I’m not sure if he got PPV points or not, Usman mentioned recently that he does but past champions like Demetrius Johnson have said they didn’t, so I’m not sure, but you receive substantially more for title challenges than you do for standard fights. Colby Covington talked about making 4x more for the Usman fight then he did for the Lawler fight despite getting a win bonus against Lawler.
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DC is the ultimate UFC shill in fairness, I don't mind the guy but I wouldn't believe a word he says.

For every fighter that toes the party line there is plenty that have come out and said how much they've been fecked over or Dana/UFC offered them hardly anything more to fight, whilst I'm sure they get more they're still ridiculously underpaid. The Reebok deal is the classic example. I could probably find thousands of articles of fighters complaining about pay, we all know it's been a thing for years. Now Edwards has taken a fight to seemingly stay active (Wonderboy can't fight in March) and it's being said he should have to wait and fight Wonderboy, why should he not fight next month when he is meant to? It's not his fault his opponent still has COVID and no one else can fight.

Maybe he looked at it and thought he's probably no where near a title shot? Masvidal is probably next for some weird reason and after that I'd bet money on it being Colby. Lets say Usman fights in the summer vs. Masvidal which is possible, then Colby later in the year, Edwards for example could get 2 fights in during that time and try and push up the ladder.
 
Little off topic from the current discussion but I’m just wondering if anyone with a better understanding of MMA than my casual fan level could give some insight on leg kicks. Specifically the calf kick.

Seems an unbelievably debilitating but surprisingly simple tactic to implement that leaves people rekt after the fight. McGregor being the obvious recent high-profile example of this.

What’s the best way to defend them and the best game plan to neutralise them beyond a strong wrestling base?
 
AgentSmith said:
Little off topic from the current discussion but I’m just wondering if anyone with a better understanding of MMA than my casual fan level could give some insight on leg kicks. Specifically the calf kick.

Seems an unbelievably debilitating but surprisingly simple tactic to implement that leaves people rekt after the fight. McGregor being the obvious recent high-profile example of this.

What’s the best way to defend them and the best game plan to neutralise them beyond a strong wrestling base?
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You can check them. Thai boxing stance is ideal for for as you're lighter om your feet. Conor for example doesn't have that stance and got kicked a lot by Dustin. Albeit that's no excuse for a professional fighter they should be able to adapt.
 
Oggmonster said:
You can check them. Thai boxing stance is ideal for for as you're lighter om your feet. Conor for example doesn't have that stance and got kicked a lot by Dustin. Albeit that's no excuse for a professional fighter they should be able to adapt.
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If you check them correctly does it pose a threat to the fighter throwing the kick?

I just couldn’t work out why every fighter who likes to stand wasn’t using them in their arsenal after watching McGregor unable to walk in the cage after the fight.
 
AgentSmith said:
If you check them correctly does it pose a threat to the fighter throwing the kick?

I just couldn’t work out why every fighter who likes to stand wasn’t using them in their arsenal after watching McGregor unable to walk in the cage after the fight.
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Yeah it can really hurt when you throw a kick and it gets checked and do some serious damage. The most famous example would be Weidman vs Anderson Silva which broke Silva's leg.

Normally people are a lot more aware of them, the McGregor thing was really odd as it's a very common tactic and has been around for years. I'd imagine if he even checked a handful of them Poirier would of stopped (or calmed down at least) but he didn't even try and defend them. It's a legitimate reason to lose a fight in terms of it does really hurt and do a lot of damage but it's no excuse at the same time cos he should know how to defend them.

The reason some fighters are better than others is their stance, Aldo is pretty good at defending them for example cos of his stance. McGregor obviously less so.
 
AgentSmith said:
If you check them correctly does it pose a threat to the fighter throwing the kick?

I just couldn’t work out why every fighter who likes to stand wasn’t using them in their arsenal after watching McGregor unable to walk in the cage after the fight.
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99% of the time, checking kicks serves as a deterrent, because it's painful as feck, for both the thrower and the receiver. Shin smashing shin is not nice. You want to hit the muscle, not the bone.

Sometimes though, checking a leg kick can lead to a broken leg.
 
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Alright makes sense, cheers guys. Seems an odd oversight on McGregor and Kavanagh’s part.

Would love to see what someone like Firas could with McGregor’s game, feels like his constantly referenced ‘loyalty’ to his team is stunting any further development he could make.

The two main title fights at 259 seem like foregone conclusions but what do you guys reckon about Yan and Sterling?

Gane Rozenstruik in a weeks time looks particularly tasty as well.
 
AgentSmith said:
Alright makes sense, cheers guys. Seems an odd oversight on McGregor and Kavanagh’s part.

Would love to see what someone like Firas could with McGregor’s game, feels like his constantly referenced ‘loyalty’ to his team is stunting any further development he could make.

The two main title fights at 259 seem like foregone conclusions but what do you guys reckon about Yan and Sterling?

Gane Rozenstruik in a weeks time looks particularly tasty as well.
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Yeah McGregor shot himself in the foot with that stuff. It's good to go camp to camp to learn new stuff. Can always go back to Kavanagh as well.

I don't think the Adesanya fight is easy to call to be honest could go either way. I'd like Sterling to win but think Yan beats him.
 
AgentSmith said:
If you check them correctly does it pose a threat to the fighter throwing the kick?

I just couldn’t work out why every fighter who likes to stand wasn’t using them in their arsenal after watching McGregor unable to walk in the cage after the fight.
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There's also the issue of the mentality of the fighter getting kicked. If he is aggressive and always thinking of ways to move forward and control the center of the Octagon, then he is not going to spend much thought on defending kicks. A good example of this was Adesanya v Costa.

Costa spent much of the fight looking for openings to explode into a flurry of punches and in the process allowed himself to get picked apart from a distance via Izzy's leg kicks, which eventually tenderized his legs so much that Adesanya took advantage by actually punching and head kicking him later in the fight.

 
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George Owen said:
Sadly we lost some fights between yesterday and today, but still, decent enough.

Last night's LFA 100 event was great, so I hope tonight's event carry on with the trend.



:mad:
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Cheers. Reckon I’ll be staying up for it. There’s so many at the moment it’s hard to keep track of :lol:
 
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