The MMA thread

Raoul said:
Max v Conor II would also be tasty
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Hmmm it's tough but I think Conor sparks Max. They've both went up a level but I think Conor is just a little more dangerous and he has a lot more punching power. I think McGregor would catch Max and put him to sleep, unfortunately. As much as I love Max, I can't see anything than a Conor win.

Max is fecking class where he is though. If you can keep making weight, then just keep that divison on lockdown and become a legend.
 
Incredible performance here by Max, earning himself the status of legend and most likely best featherweight of all time. He has cleaned out the division with high profile fights against hall of famers Aldo and Edgar, to top it off by finishing a 14-0 Ortega, the black belt specialist. Ortega showed resilience and heart and he will bounce back. Who’s still there to fight at 145? A super bout at 155 is very interesting now, with names like Khabib, Tony and even Conor.
 
MaxiPaxi said:
Hmmm it's tough but I think Conor sparks Max. They've both went up a level but I think Conor is just a little more dangerous and he has a lot more punching power. I think McGregor would catch Max and put him to sleep, unfortunately. As much as I love Max, I can't see anything than a Conor win.

Max is fecking class where he is though. If you can keep making weight, then just keep that divison on lockdown and become a legend.
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Max's striking and cardio are better than Conor's today.
 
Yeah, Holloway beats McGregor for me. McGregor wouldn't be able to handle the pace he sets.
 
It was a masterful performance by Max. After health issues etc. Just beautiful. Take nothing away from Ortega though, he showed some real heart and pretty much stood toe to toe with Max for 4 rounds. Can't help but think he needs a new team. He needs to be more pragmatic and less naive. He could have won this tonight... it's not like he was schooled... he showed some real stand up but Ortega is all about BJJ and I'm so surprised he didn't try to close in on Max. Personally, I blame his team... Switch to AKA. You got Khabib, Kane, DC.. Go there and I have no doubt hell be champion.
 
MaxiPaxi said:
Khabib will pound both. Khabib needs to go to 170. That will test him. If he can do that then he'll be one of the mma greats.

Ortega needs a new team. Really stupid plan against Max... Just shoot for something after a combo or a miss by Max. Why go toe to toe with him? Daft. Nevertheless, Ortega and Max are both quality and they could well move up weight.
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Khabib already is an mma great, just because he is ‘big’ for his weight class doesnt mean his accomplishments there are ‘less’. Same thing could be said about Conor in his 145 days. He was to ‘big’ for his weight class too. Actually the weight argument could be said about many other fighters. In the end, it doesnt matter which weight class one is in, you have to possess a great talent to go on big streaks and winning the belt.

I do have to agree that i was also surprised by the lack of take downs. That will probably come to light in the post fight interviews.
 
Raoul said:
Max's striking and cardio are better than Conor's today.
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No doubt about it. Max's punching power is not great through, at least at 155. As good as his striking is, I just don't see him Tony, Conor and Khabib.
 
LazyRed-Ninja said:
Khabib already is an mma great, just because he is ‘big’ for his weight class doesnt mean his accomplishments there are ‘less’. Same thing could be said about Conor in his 145 days. He was to ‘big’ for his weight class too. Actually the weight argument could be said about many other fighters. In the end, it doesnt matter which weight class one is in, you have to possess a great talent to go on big streaks and winning the belt.

I do have to agree that i was also surprised by the lack of take downs. That will probably come to light in the post fight interviews.
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Haha.

I'm the biggest Khabib fan on here! If I do say so myself... :)

Personally, I think it's a bit like having a good manager or a good team in F1 etc.

No doubt Khabib has wrestling on lockdown but he needed to work on his striking. He looked sloppy against Al.. He looked quality against Conor. I think Khabib is average at best on his feet.. but if he can improve even to the point where he is proficient on his feet then he will be close to GSP level imo.





I keep linking this video. I couldn't agree more with that guy in terms of principles of MMA. And why the feck are we having this discussion anyway. Royce Gracie already proved it all.
 
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I'd forgotten how much i enjoy watching Max fight :drool::drool::drool:

Ortega is tough as nails, but damn, Max :drool:
Also, Valentina :drool:

What a great card this was
 
Incredible timing and output from Max. Kudos to Ortega too, a performance he can be proud of. Good call from the doc, Ortega was beaten.

As expected from Schevchenko. Too Strong for JJ, only surprise is that she didn't finish the fight on the ground, and Joanna's unbelievable ability to get up from the floor.

Joanna's not beating Valentina at 125, she should reclaim the 115 crown and then think about retiring.
 
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McGregor sparks Max out. Max won't get close enough with his little arms.
Maybe pre Khabib he would have a chance but if Conor knuckles down it won't even be close.
Honestly, Conor would have won last night in the first round if he kept standing like that.
 
Happy Valentina will be able to secure her legacy with a healthy number of title defences now finally she has the belt. She'll be very active that's for sure.
 
cyberman said:
McGregor sparks Max out. Max won't get close enough with his little arms.
Maybe pre Khabib he would have a chance but if Conor knuckles down it won't even be close.
Honestly, Conor would have won last night in the first round if he kept standing like that.
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Couldn't care less about Conor. Too much talking. I'll do this to you, I'll do that, blah, blah, blah.
 
Holloway is a monster, he doesn't really have great power but he's so relentless and effective his opponents would almost be better off if he could put them away quicker because they end up looking like ground beef rather than getting knocked out with one punch. Ortega seems like he needs a more reliable way to bring his BJJ into the equation, he took on Max in striking and paid the price.
 
Holloway is just sensational. Likewise for the women, Shevchenko is just on another level to her opponents, even Joanna. Max though, his last 2 fights in particular, his timing and movement has been incredible. Just hope he can stay healthy. I would absolutely love to see a Holloway - McGregor rematch but I'm not sure how the stars could align to make it happen.
 
Raoul said:
Max's striking and cardio are better than Conor's today.
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Tbf I'm not sure we really know what Mcgregor striking "today" looks like. All we've really seen in recent times is the Khabib fight, where his striking looked much more ineffective than people anticipated. I don't think that's really a true representation of his current ability but neither do I know what his current ability is. The likely impact ring rust had clouds the issue too much.

In terms of cardio though Max is certainly miles ahead under any permutation.
 
sullydnl said:
Tbf I'm not sure we really know what Mcgregor striking "today" looks like. All we've really seen in recent times is the Khabib fight, where his striking looked much more ineffective than people anticipated. I don't think that's really a true representation of his current ability but neither do I know what his current ability is. The likely impact ring rust had clouds the issue too much.

In terms of cardio though Max is certainly miles ahead under any permutation.
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The Khabib fight is more than enough to know that Conor’s striking isn’t at the dominant level it once was.
 
Props to Ortega, he took shot after shot after shot to keep going just incredible but some of that striking by Max. That was a masterclass in timing and bravery. To have the balls to sit in there and just wait for the opportunity to present itself to land the shot just incredible.

Not sure about calling him the best featherweight of all time when Aldo was the King for as long as he was and yeah Holloway beat Aldo but not prime Aldo. I would love to see Holloway vs McGregor again. Both very different fighters now and it’ll be a great striking exchange.

Was impressed with JJ in the later rounds and think she needs to stay at that weight try and put on the muscle as she looked a bit fleshy still and Valentina showed her strength in comparison.
 
sullydnl said:
In terms of cardio though Max is certainly miles ahead under any permutation
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Very true, Holloway is helped by not trying to take peoples heads off with every shot, doesn’t seem to put that much effort in to the strikes, he’s just relying on his volume and connection rates.

Weirdly I would say against Floyd Connor tried to put out a high volume of strikes. He was just peppering Floyds guard with light shots and eventually ran out of gas. I want to see that fight so bad, Probbaly would have preferred it over Kahbib if I’m honest with myself. Love Max, have for some time he deserves a red panty night.
 
Lost in last night's narrative is how awesome Thiago Santos looked. The guy is definitely ready for the next level.
 
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Raoul said:
Lost in last night's narrative is how awesome Thiago Santos looked. The guy is definitely ready for
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I didn’t think he was actually that great. It was an amazing fight but the technical quality wasn’t there, it was like two giant stags meeting head on just swinging punches, but then I’m sort of a stickler for good technique and footwork.
 
RedFish said:
Couldn't care less about Conor. Too much talking. I'll do this to you, I'll do that, blah, blah, blah.
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Same as that but it doesn't change my opinion of a Max v Conor bout.
Fighters who move out and in will always get timed against a top level striker. It looks good but its a tactic that's becoming less and less frequent for a reason.
 
Raoul said:
The Khabib fight is more than enough to know that Conor’s striking isn’t at the dominant level it once was.
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Or he trained his ground game to the point that his striking suffered from lack of attention.
 
cyberman said:
Or he trained his ground game to the point that his striking suffered from lack of attention.
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That's always possible, although it wasn't particularly impressive that Conor came within a whisker of getting KO'd by Khabib, who many thought wouldn't even bother attempting to box him.
 
You could watch Max Holloway fight all damn night. You get the impression he could do it, too. What a fighter, what a performance.

Ortega will be a very sore man today, absolutely brutal.
 
The main card was excellent. Santos vs Manuwa was ridiculously entertaining, it was good to see Valentina finally get her title, and credit to Holloway for coming back from his health problems like that. He irrationally irritates me, but he's a brilliant volume striker. His cardio is just insane. Glad the doctor stopped the fight when he did as Ortega was just too tough for his own good. He was taking some horrible, prolonged punishment.
 
The main card was really good. Feel a bit sorry for Manuwa not getting any bonus after that fight but Ortega vs Holloway was better obviously.

Good stoppage right call cos Ortega would of kept going and had nothing at all left, do hope to see that fight again though one day and hope he comes back and earns another shot.

Dunno where Joanna goes from here, she's at a huge size disadvantage with Valentina and lost twice to Rose. I imagine she'll take some time off and hope Rose loses the title so she has another shot at that. For me she'd have to earn it though, can't be 0-3 in 3 title shots then get a 4th.
 
Luke1995 said:
Do you prefer Helwani's espn show or the mma hour with Luke Thomas ? Why ?
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Neither. Ariel's show is a bit too commercial and remains undercut by the fact that he's always been a bit of a drama-queenish shit strirrer. Thomas has also always been a bit annoying. I generally only watch the UFC youtube to catch up on things these days.
 
Oggmonster said:
Can't stand Helwani these days, like @Raoul ssaid he's a shit stirrer and I think he tries to make drama from stuff that isn't actually there.
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Yup, totally agree, I find Ariel is so cringe. He just sucks off any fighter on his show - yuk.

Don't mind Luke so much, althkughbje does come across as a know it all.

I quite like the weasle YouTube breakdowns, along with all the usual embedded stuff + the bloody elbow MMA nation pods with Zane and co.
 
Oggmonster said:
The main card was really good. Feel a bit sorry for Manuwa not getting any bonus after that fight but Ortega vs Holloway was better obviously.

Good stoppage right call cos Ortega would of kept going and had nothing at all left, do hope to see that fight again though one day and hope he comes back and earns another shot.

Dunno where Joanna goes from here, she's at a huge size disadvantage with Valentina and lost twice to Rose. I imagine she'll take some time off and hope Rose loses the title so she has another shot at that. For me she'd have to earn it though, can't be 0-3 in 3 title shots then get a 4th.
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She won't return to @115/unless it's a title shot. There's only so many times she make the weight cut, and she's intimated as much. 125 is just not for her, but losing to Valentina is ok, they both know the score and you could see the mutual respect they have for each other.

Shell retire once if she manages to reclaim the 115 crown.
 
Helwani shit stirs a lot but sometimes (like his recent interview with Abdelaziz) he's decent. But his shows are way too long.

Thomas is quite good with his Monday Morning Analyst stuff but does come across as a condescending know-it-all. He is quite funny when answering reader questions.

I only listen to The Co-Main Event Podcast now in relation to MMA. That's the best one for me by far.
 
Dirty Schwein said:
Helwani shit stirs a lot but sometimes (like his recent interview with Abdelaziz) he's decent. But his shows are way too long.

Thomas is quite good with his Monday Morning Analyst stuff but does come across as a condescending know-it-all. He is quite funny when answering reader questions.

I only listen to The Co-Main Event Podcast now in relation to MMA. That's the best one for me by far.
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Have you tried the heavy hands MMA pod. Its similar, one American and one Brit duo. It's quite funny and their output is regular and frequent.
 
RedFish said:
She won't return to @115/unless it's a title shot. There's only so many times she make the weight cut, and she's intimated as much. 125 is just not for her, but losing to Valentina is ok, they both know the score and you could see the mutual respect they have for each other.

Shell retire once if she manages to reclaim the 115 crown.
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Probably I'm sure she's mentioned she wants kids to.

I think she's in the Wonderboy position with Rose as champion. She's had 2 fights, lost 1 then the rematch can't see how she'll get a third shot. It's not really an interesting fight at this moment

Dirty Schwein said:
Helwani shit stirs a lot but sometimes (like his recent interview with Abdelaziz) he's decent. But his shows are way too long.

Thomas is quite good with his Monday Morning Analyst stuff but does come across as a condescending know-it-all. He is quite funny when answering reader questions.

I only listen to The Co-Main Event Podcast now in relation to MMA. That's the best one for me by far.
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YEah Helwani show feels like it's never ending. I used to like him up until the 200 debacle since then he seems to constantly try and shit stir stuff and instigate drama. It really put me off him.
 
Raoul said:
Neither. Ariel's show is a bit too commercial and remains undercut by the fact that he's always been a bit of a drama-queenish shit strirrer. Thomas has also always been a bit annoying. I generally only watch the UFC youtube to catch up on things these days.
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When Thomas is alone he will talk about anything and RIP whoever disagrees with him, but when he has a guest which he talked about alone, he will change his tone and be all friendly...
 
Oggmonster said:
Can't stand Helwani these days, like @Raoul ssaid he's a shit stirrer and I think he tries to make drama from stuff that isn't actually there.
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It was so funny when he ruined UFC'S big party announcement for the 200 though. He could have sat on the information and let them surprise the fans, but it was all about him.
 
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