The MMA thread

Blessed just became my favourite fighter. Always liked him but he took his likeability up a notch.
Tough as they come.
 
Saw a tweet linked on Reddit, saying Holloway got both the performance of the night and fight of the night, 600k dollar.
 
If Max isn't one of your favourite fighters then theirs something wrong with you. What a performance and finish.

Pereira telling the ref "don't worry I'll deal with this cnut" and then getting the ko immediately was one of the funniest things I've seen in a while :lol:
 
Holloway and Pereira with two all time memorable moments. Stand and bang + stand aside while I murder this man. Amazing, the card lived up to expectations.
 
I can’t decide which is the cooler: Max’s throw down, showdown finish, or Potan waving the ref away like a movie char before finishes Hill with the disdain of Shao Kahn.

Going to watch that whole card back a few times; rare an event lives up to its billing, but this one really went beyond.
 
Fortitude said:
I can’t decide which is the cooler: Max’s throw down, showdown finish, or Potan waving the ref away like a movie char before finishes Hill with the disdain of Shao Kahn.

Going to watch that whole card back a few times; rare an event lives up to its billing, but this one really went beyond.
Click to expand...

Both legendary. So good we got both in the same night.

GLHc-Al-VWQAAb-STA.jpg
 
I think that Max finish is the most badass thing I have ever seen in my whole life. I mean, Pereira is a killer and was just superior in every way.

But Max is moving up in weight class, going up against one of the hardest hitters around, has the fight in the bag after a grueling contest, and he is so confident in his own ability he asks to stand, risking it all, to knock him out cold in the final second.

Any other fighter just jumps around and takes the win, but that was the craziest and coolest thing I have ever seen in MMA. If it were a movie, you would say that it took away from the realism. It really was unbelievable.

The most iconic moment I have ever seen in MMA and that isn’t even hyperbole.
 
George Owen said:
Both legendary. So good we got both in the same night.

GLHc-Al-VWQAAb-STA.jpg
Click to expand...
:lol: And Herb’s like: ‘yessir!’
Maluco said:
I think that Max finish is the most badass thing I have ever seen in my whole life. I mean, Pereira is a killer and was just superior in every way.

But Max is moving up in weight class, going up against one of the hardest hitters around, has the fight in the bag after a grueling contest, and he is so confident in his own ability he asks to stand, risking it all, to knock him out cold in the final second.

Any other fighter just jumps around and takes the win, but that was the craziest and coolest thing I have ever seen in MMA. If it were a movie, you would say that it took away from the realism. It really was unbelievable.

The most iconic moment I have ever seen in MMA and that isn’t even hyperbole.
Click to expand...
Considering I thought he’d be risking his health even going up to fight a slugger, to rubber stamp the victory like that, it would be mine too.
 
Maluco said:
I think that Max finish is the most badass thing I have ever seen in my whole life. I mean, Pereira is a killer and was just superior in every way.

But Max is moving up in weight class, going up against one of the hardest hitters around, has the fight in the bag after a grueling contest, and he is so confident in his own ability he asks to stand, risking it all, to knock him out cold in the final second.

Any other fighter just jumps around and takes the win, but that was the craziest and coolest thing I have ever seen in MMA. If it were a movie, you would say that it took away from the realism. It really was unbelievable.

The most iconic moment I have ever seen in MMA and that isn’t even hyperbole.
Click to expand...
Max Holloway has so many iconic moments in the UFC like teaching Ortega to block and "I'm the best boxer in the UFC". This was another string to the bow of classic moments.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if they disclosed that Holloway is a long lost Diaz brother. Crazy knockout and well deserving of the 600k bonus.
 
Life is strange. Ferguson took on the Gaethje fight instead of waiting for his title match and ended up losing badly. Gaethje took on this fight instead of waiting and the same happened to him.
 
Maluco said:
I think that Max finish is the most badass thing I have ever seen in my whole life. I mean, Pereira is a killer and was just superior in every way.

But Max is moving up in weight class, going up against one of the hardest hitters around, has the fight in the bag after a grueling contest, and he is so confident in his own ability he asks to stand, risking it all, to knock him out cold in the final second.

Any other fighter just jumps around and takes the win, but that was the craziest and coolest thing I have ever seen in MMA. If it were a movie, you would say that it took away from the realism. It really was unbelievable.

The most iconic moment I have ever seen in MMA and that isn’t even hyperbole.
Click to expand...

One of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in any sport. Probably the craziest. Can’t think of any other scenario where someone risked an easy championship win just to be a total badass. To be so dominant, risk it all and hit a home run like that. Mind boggling.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
One of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in any sport. Probably the craziest. Can’t think of any other scenario where someone risked an easy championship win just to be a total badass. To be so dominant, risk it all and hit a home run like that. Mind boggling.
Click to expand...

I have watched it about 30-40 times since, he is just built differently I guess, but the mix of courage, confidence and pure skill to light up such a power hitter like that, just boggles the mind.

If he wasn’t already my favorite fighter, he is now.
 
Maluco said:
I have watched it about 30-40 times since, he is just built differently I guess, but the mix of courage, confidence and pure skill to light up such a power hitter like that, just boggles the mind.

If he wasn’t already my favorite fighter, he is now.
Click to expand...
Thing about him is that he's not just a savage in the cage, he also seems so likeable in real life. Like he's a self confessed gamer nerd. If I could hang out with one UFC fighter, would probably be him.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Thing about him is that he's not just a savage in the cage, he also seems so likeable in real life. Like he's a self confessed gamer nerd. If I could hang out with one UFC fighter, would probably be him.
Click to expand...

He really does, seems so humble and down to earth. I was worried for him after that slurred speech episode and thought he should have probably thought about what more he could achieve after Volk, but that was absolutely stunning.
 
T00lsh3d said:
Alex should have called out Aspinall for the interim HW belt. Seriously, he’s in his late thirties and he could easily get big enough to trouble even a heavyweight as talented as Aspinall. The possibility of being a 3-weight champ? Should have done it
Click to expand...
Fortitude said:
Never even thought of him in the HW's, tbh. It would be quite something if his power carried over. I think in the old days when the likes of Rumble and even Cormier crossed over, there was only Cain in the picture as one of these übermensch, whereas now I think that age of true HW athletes is being ushered in with the likes of Aspinall, Gane and Pavlovich who are going to be the barometers for the division as Jones and Stipe call it a day.

Does Alex have the durability to not only hurt them, but be hurt by them? Can he handle grappling and weight bearing with them leaning on him? I don't know the answer to any of that stuff, but it's definitely another dimension to the LHW's.

Someone should put the question to him in one of those ask the fighter Q&A's and see what he himself thinks.
Click to expand...
T00lsh3d said:
Normally it would be impossible and he’d obviously be a dog against the top-ranked heavies…..it’s just his power. It’s like @George Owen said, the touch of death, doesn’t have to be clean or even look that hard and people crumble.

Id be really into that story, him going up and going for a 3rd division title. I don’t mind a fast-track to the interim title either. Way more interesting than him fighting the dross at LHW or bloody Izzy again
Click to expand...
Fortitude said:
It would be quite something; the heat coming back at him from those HW's would be ferocious as they'd be massively offended that he would think he can go up two divisions like that, in this day and age.

I'm not saying he couldn't do it, but fighting the aforementioned is just a different world to the baddest LHW's; just so much more weight, power and mass. Gane, Aspinall and Pavlovich are the new breed: fast, mobile, explosive. Would be incredible if he could match them, particularly the first two.
Click to expand...
T00lsh3d said:
Agree it’d be tough. He’s favoured to an extent that the 3 you mentioned are all really strikers (arguable Tom’s an all-rounder). Alex is a kickboxer who wants to fight on his feet. I think he’d really struggle with a prime Cormier for example who’d rag-doll him and keep him on the floor the whole fight. I’d give him a chance against anyone on his feet quite frankly, and he’s not exactly a dwarf. They said last night he was coming into the ring around 230-ish? He’s 6ft 4. Be interesting to see after say a 6 month bulk just how big he looks against the likes of Gane, who I think it also 6ft 4 and fights at around 245-250ish
Click to expand...
Fortitude said:
The biggest concern for those going up is losing their mobility and stamina even if their power carries over.

Aspinall and Gane are really, really fast and mobile at? 240ish? It's huge. Plus they have trye HW durability - could Pereira take the kind of punch Aspinall did last night? Can he handle multiple blows to the body on top of being heavier? Lots of questions that are great unknowns, just like they are/were for Jones.
Click to expand...
T00lsh3d said:
These are the questions and we need to know the answers god dammit :lol:

I have no interest in Jamahal Hill I tell you. None.
Click to expand...
redom said:
Aspinall weighed in at just over 260 for last nights fight, I think the way he moves makes us think he's a bit lighter but he's a massive guy and moves like a middleweight, can't wait to see his continued evolution. I was scared for him last night but he took that initial shot from Pavlovich really well so it looks like he's got a good chin to go along with the rest of his game, could be a huge star in the making.
Click to expand...
Fortitude said:
I’m in this thread tipping him to be a champion from the first time I saw him because he has everything you want and the movement of a much lighter man, as you say. Biggest fear is his knee holding up for me; really hope it doesn’t curtail his organic growth or give him any issues in the future - he needs it to hold up to be so explosive and mobile, too.

There’s little chance either Stipe or Jones risk their remaining career legacy by fighting him instead of one another, I think. He’s the new breed of HW that has been long overdue.

re. Weight. Didn’t know it was 260! Just goes to show how much of a leap it would be to try and take him on coming from a much lighter division.
Click to expand...
saivet said:
Apparently he was one of their better players but I only watched the final 10 mins of that game, so I can't really say.

Click to expand...

Gentlemen!

Reminded of this with Alex coming out and stating he wants to fight at HW!

Apparently he walks around at 230.

I doubt Aspinall stands and trades with him, not because he can't but because it's not the shrewdest route to victory.

I wonder who the UFC will line him up to fight at HW, anyway, and then the analysis can begin.
 
I wouldn't be adverse to Pereira-Aspinall but there are probably better options for both at the moment - doesn't make much sense for Tom (or the UFC) to rush and fight on short-notice again at 301 next month when there is a PPV in his hometown in July.

Pereira vs Ankalaev / Jiri rematch makes sense as a next defence and Aspinall I hope will be fighting Blaydes in Manchester at 304 (although I've a feeling they might go with Gane, which is definitely fine as well) - if both come through those tests (and Jones isn't a viable option at that point for Tom) then I think Pereira-Aspinall would be a massive fight.
 
I think part of the reason Alex want's a heavyweight fight is the UFC pay structure means you really only make the big bucks when you are champion and get those PPV points, so like Volk and Adesanya before that he fancies a chance at a new belt without risking his own.

Another point made earlier is in the midst of the Max fanfare and the 600k bonus is the reality that elite UFC fighters are paid peanuts compared to what they are worth. No one can tell me the likes of Max and Justin shouldn't be getting 7 figures every fight. The lack of a fighter union means the company can keep 80/90% of the money and have the athletes feed off the scraps that remain.
 
Fortitude said:
Gentlemen!

Reminded of this with Alex coming out and stating he wants to fight at HW!

Apparently he walks around at 230.

I doubt Aspinall stands and trades with him, not because he can't but because it's not the shrewdest route to victory.

I wonder who the UFC will line him up to fight at HW, anyway, and then the analysis can begin.
Click to expand...
You could see it, chance to be a triple champ. I think Tom fecks him up though
 
Desert Eagle said:
I think part of the reason Alex want's a heavyweight fight is the UFC pay structure means you really only make the big bucks when you are champion and get those PPV points, so like Volk and Adesanya before that he fancies a chance at a new belt without risking his own.

Another point made earlier is in the midst of the Max fanfare and the 600k bonus is the reality that elite UFC fighters are paid peanuts compared to what they are worth. No one can tell me the likes of Max and Justin shouldn't be getting 7 figures every fight. The lack of a fighter union means the company can keep 80/90% of the money and have the athletes feed off the scraps that remain.
Click to expand...

I think he just wants to fight at 301 and can't or doesn't want to make 205 again that soon, that's all it seems to be. He didn't specifically call for a title shot, and he specifically mentioned the Rio card.
 
DannyCAFC said:
I think he just wants to fight at 301 and can't or doesn't want to make 205 again that soon, that's all it seems to be. He didn't specifically call for a title shot, and he specifically mentioned the Rio card.
Click to expand...

Yeah the weight cut is definitely part of it too. Gonna be a bit of a low period for fights until the 2 ppvs in June. If you're a ufc fighter who's fighting in that period, probably not highly regarded by the promotion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.