All media surrounding the UFC continually calls every bloody fighter the GOAT or says they'll possibly be the GOAT "if they win tonight" or that they are the greatest at a specific aspect of the game. It's a beyond annoying hype merchant marketing tool they seem to use so much that it has no meaning any more.
The MMA thread
- Thread starter Fortitude
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All media surrounding the UFC continually calls every bloody fighter the GOAT or says they'll possibly be the GOAT "if they win tonight" or that they are the greatest at a specific aspect of the game. It's a beyond annoying hype merchant marketing tool they seem to use so much that it has no meaning any more.
Askren all the way. I'm becoming a real fan of his. I think the UFC could do with more colourful characters. No wonder he gets on with Chael and Bisping.
Thought he did well after getting smashed in the first seconds of the fight. Bad stoppage, but he did get the take down and he put himself in a position to win ,so fair play.
Except that its all so obviously fake. Compare the likes of Covington, Askern, and a few others with DC and Jones, who genuinely dislike one another and you can see that the former group are little more than wannabe Conor clones.
What an enjoyable card that was. A few thoughts:
Sanchez/Gall - Gall blowing hard after a round was not a good look for him. Diego doing what Diego does, I guess. Post-fight allegations of eye gouging and biting from Gall go a long way towards establishing him as the most unlikeable fighter on the roster.
Walker/Cirkunov - Can’t take your eyes off Walker for a second. Loose, languid and can shut the lights off in the blink of an eye. Johnny Walker/Thiago Santos would be mayhem and might indeed be a fight of apocalyptic proportions. I need to see it at some point; however, signs suggest Santos might be getting a title shot so might have to wait a little longer..
Zabit/Stephens - Would love to see this play out over 5 rounds. Zabit is so measured and smooth, you could see the problems he was posing Jeremy with his constant stance changes and feints. Having said that, shades of the Bochniak fight where he was looking up at the clock towards the end of the fight. Hypothetical I know, but if ever he should find himself facing Max, you need more than 2 1/2 good rounds in the tank, otherwise he’ll break you. Would love to see Zabit/Volkanovski headline a card over 5 rounds, especially if Ortega/Aldo goes ahead.
Munhoz/Garbrandt - Cody, Cody, Cody.. What on earth? Like a red rag to a bull. Allowed himself to fall into that trap again and paid for it with his consciousness. Not the first time we’ve seen Cody throwing a right hand as if he was pitching a baseball and subsequently getting sparked out. Munhoz/Moraes would be a top fight to make, if Dillashaw/Cejudo is in the works for a rematch.
Lawler/Askren - Sheesh. Where do you start with this one? I think a prime Robbie would have finisihed that fight. Having said that, Ben did well to recover and put himself in a position to win, so props for that. He looked as rigid as can be though and is even more hittable than I remember him being. For the record, I think it was a woeful stoppage and particularly surprising, given that Herb actually rolls himself. With that said, let’s not bother with a rematch. Let’s have some fun - Let’s have Robbie fight Ponzinibbio and Askren fight Masvidal/Till.
Woodley/Usman - So I always thought Kamaru had the style to beat Woodley and believed he would win the fight; however, I didn’t see him being so dominant. Perhaps one of the most apt nicknames in the sport - ‘Nigerian Nightmare’. He must be a terror to fight. Every horrible, wearisome and punishing thing one can do, Kamaru does and does well. Outrageously strong physically with top cardio, Kamaru could defend the title quite a few times. Covington the obvious fight and I think Kamaru will embarrass him.
Jones/Smith - Easy night of work for the GOAT. I like Smith and he did the honourable thing regarding the potential disqualification; however, Jones was never really out of 2nd gear. A resounding beat down after nullifying his opponent. Shades of the OSP fight for me, in the sense I think JBJ could have finished the fight if he wanted.
Sanchez/Gall - Gall blowing hard after a round was not a good look for him. Diego doing what Diego does, I guess. Post-fight allegations of eye gouging and biting from Gall go a long way towards establishing him as the most unlikeable fighter on the roster.
Walker/Cirkunov - Can’t take your eyes off Walker for a second. Loose, languid and can shut the lights off in the blink of an eye. Johnny Walker/Thiago Santos would be mayhem and might indeed be a fight of apocalyptic proportions. I need to see it at some point; however, signs suggest Santos might be getting a title shot so might have to wait a little longer..
Zabit/Stephens - Would love to see this play out over 5 rounds. Zabit is so measured and smooth, you could see the problems he was posing Jeremy with his constant stance changes and feints. Having said that, shades of the Bochniak fight where he was looking up at the clock towards the end of the fight. Hypothetical I know, but if ever he should find himself facing Max, you need more than 2 1/2 good rounds in the tank, otherwise he’ll break you. Would love to see Zabit/Volkanovski headline a card over 5 rounds, especially if Ortega/Aldo goes ahead.
Munhoz/Garbrandt - Cody, Cody, Cody.. What on earth? Like a red rag to a bull. Allowed himself to fall into that trap again and paid for it with his consciousness. Not the first time we’ve seen Cody throwing a right hand as if he was pitching a baseball and subsequently getting sparked out. Munhoz/Moraes would be a top fight to make, if Dillashaw/Cejudo is in the works for a rematch.
Lawler/Askren - Sheesh. Where do you start with this one? I think a prime Robbie would have finisihed that fight. Having said that, Ben did well to recover and put himself in a position to win, so props for that. He looked as rigid as can be though and is even more hittable than I remember him being. For the record, I think it was a woeful stoppage and particularly surprising, given that Herb actually rolls himself. With that said, let’s not bother with a rematch. Let’s have some fun - Let’s have Robbie fight Ponzinibbio and Askren fight Masvidal/Till.
Woodley/Usman - So I always thought Kamaru had the style to beat Woodley and believed he would win the fight; however, I didn’t see him being so dominant. Perhaps one of the most apt nicknames in the sport - ‘Nigerian Nightmare’. He must be a terror to fight. Every horrible, wearisome and punishing thing one can do, Kamaru does and does well. Outrageously strong physically with top cardio, Kamaru could defend the title quite a few times. Covington the obvious fight and I think Kamaru will embarrass him.
Jones/Smith - Easy night of work for the GOAT. I like Smith and he did the honourable thing regarding the potential disqualification; however, Jones was never really out of 2nd gear. A resounding beat down after nullifying his opponent. Shades of the OSP fight for me, in the sense I think JBJ could have finished the fight if he wanted.
Tbf someone like Sonnen always had the air of someone performing an act too but it worked for him. The problem I have with Covington in particular is less that it's fake and more that it's witless.
Of course it is, there isn't a malicious bone in his body. he's a chilled guy, who'd got the gift of the gab and uses it to wind people up and have a bit of fun. He's one of the good guys!
He and Askren are very much alike imo. Covington is distasteful, and as you say, witless.
Throwing punches and kicks might have helped him instead of his usual backing up and waiting for 1 shot.
I’d quite like to see Usman vs Till or Thompson to be honest. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen Usman so i’d Like to see how he’d do against a striker that will throw stuff at him and not just stand still and let him grab them. Looked absolutely imperious when he got a hold of Woodley who is no slouch at wrestling.
Seriously, how good is Jon Jones?
It has to be him as the greatest followed by MM for the completeness on display.
Jones is vulnerable to a great boxer, but good luck with that when he has so many other tools to utilise to immediately negate that threat.
His only opponent is the range of shite he ingests to get his rocks off.
He's got no equal in his division and the range of winning methods can only be contested by MM.
It's not a surprise he has a ruinous god complex, all things considered.
It has to be him as the greatest followed by MM for the completeness on display.
Jones is vulnerable to a great boxer, but good luck with that when he has so many other tools to utilise to immediately negate that threat.
His only opponent is the range of shite he ingests to get his rocks off.
He's got no equal in his division and the range of winning methods can only be contested by MM.
It's not a surprise he has a ruinous god complex, all things considered.
That Bum Ali Aziz at it again, I really hope one day one of these MMA fighters actually just smash him, such a prick, I hate Covington but even in that scenario I’d root for him.
I don't think they're Conor clones at all really, they don't particularly use the same style as trash talk, they just talk shit but Conor isn't the only person to ever do it. Till is maybe somewhat similar but that's more of a culture thing I'd suggest than anything else.
Enjoyed the card overall some good fights. Woodley was a weird one wasn't at the races at all not like him. Think it opens the WW division up a bit now as well didn;t think many would beat Woodley personally.
I'd probably rank Jones as number 1 P4P. Always have a question mark against his name for me but yeah he finds a way to win every fight and usually pretty easily.
ali is a dick, fair fecks to Usman for stopping it all as well.
He really didn’t look right, even with his normal tactic of just backing up when the shots were there previously he’d throw and he just seemed so hesitant to commit to the openings and just wasn’t throwing. Then there was the desperate attempts at trying to get a guilitine, he seemed to be rushing it and going after it when it really wasn’t there and he was pretty much passive on the ground and at times it looked to me like he just really didn’t want to be in there.
For the division, Martys win does seem to really open it up and make it a bit more exciting as I haven’t seen anything of Usman bar a few clips and this fight but he does look beatable so I’d be intrigued to see how he’d do against someone that will put out the volume to stop him just grabbing a hold of them.
Almost guaranteed Coby will be his next fight and I would doubt Woodley gets a look in for a while if Dana has his way.
The way he stands there and deconstructs opponents is something else. The exasperation they go through as well as the mental collapse as they realise they have no hope is what stands out. It's not just how he bashed up Smith or Gustaffson, rather the range and scope of what he does in the octagon and his one discernible weakness is so hard to get to contend with off the back of everything else backing it up, that we probably won't see it 'exposed'.
He's not faster or more reflexive than his opponents, either, which are huge marks up for him over MM and Silva, imo. He just outreads, outsmarts and conceptualizes fighting in a way the UFC hasn't seen before. It's prodigious what he has.
Yeah, fair play to him for not using excuses and just said he had an off day, even he seemed confused by it.
Agree on the last point definitely...which makes it even odder he looked so bad. He knows Dana isn't his biggest fan and he won't get the rematch. I wouldn't be surprised if he moved up a weight. He could possibly get a quicker title shot in that division. I'd imagine Colby, Askren, the winner of Till vs. Masvidal are definitely above him. People like Ponzinibbio probably are close to and the likes of Edwards, Luque etc may only be 1 or 2 wins away. I don't think Woodley will be getting a title shot any time soon.
Yeah he's a master at working out his opponents, it must be hugely frustrating seems the only way he would lose is by getting DQed!
That's a nightmare match-up for Till. Askren will take him down, beat him up and submit him.
Especially of Herb Dean is the ref again.
Dunno what weight these 2 are fighting at but I imagine there will be an interim title involved...
We need Conor to invade the Octagon and bitch slap Goddard back into his place.
I hate Colbys whole shtick too, he comes across as an absolute weapon but if he was to give Ali a lesson he would immediately go up in my estimation, baffles me that so many fighters align themselves with him but he must be doing something right I suppose.
Askren is known for not getting hit right? he certainly looked very hittable at weekend and I'm not surprised he doesn't want that rematch because he got smashed early on, think it puts pressure on his next performance as it feels a bit like he got away with one.
He's a bit like the Mino Raiola of MMA managers - always managing the top talent and getting involved in business he shouldn't be.
Yeah I really don’t get it, I imagine he’d be an absolute tool to do buisness with. Hopefully Kahbib comes across a Diaz fight somehow as I can’t see them taking any of Ali’s rubbish.
Clearly Khabib taught Ali how to do a single leg and now Ali walks around acting like a hard man.
Need Werdum to throw a boomerang at him.
Need Werdum to throw a boomerang at him.
And of course he's got limbs that shoot like pistons, that oblique kick damn threatening to break your leg if you dare come forward.
Ped's or not Jones is an animal. Just a sensational fighter. And this is coming from DC nuthugger. 
Some interesting matchups in here....most notably Zabit v Jose Aldo
Ped's or not Jones is an animal. Just a sensational fighter.
From a technical standpoint he is probably the most complete fighter, you don't want to stand or grapple with him which means that he can do whatever he wants without thinking too much about consequences. Someone like Usman has that too to a lesser extent, they are not one trick poneys unlike many fighters.
There’s something weirdly simple and innocent about Robbie Lawler. Wish he’d have finished this Askren guy.
Crazier still is that he is developing, improving and constantly working on upping his game.
I used to say it was just a case of a ridiculously shaped guy running roughshod over a division he shouldn't be in, but he's fought guys his own size since then and shown it's not close to the truth to say he's too big and therefore should go up to HW (where he is too small, imo). He lacks power at LHW, so it would be a huge problem for him in the HW's where the likelihood of him being walked down is considerably higher, but it's the same lack of power that allows us to see just how good he is at LHW where he instead just pulverizes opponents for as long as they can take it.
Apart from Johnny Walker (in maybe a year) it doesn't seem like there's anyone in the division who stands a chance against him, but if he goes up, apart from Cormier, it seems like an extreme challenge for him to do what he does at HW unless he maintains the wrestling base advantage that he has at LHW.
It will take an all-time great LHW, or Jones doing something really stupid outside of the ring (either not taking camp seriously ala Gus 1, or Jones' usual range of stupidity) for him to lose at LHW.
HW is the great unknown if he decides to go up - a place where he'll have to prove doubts against him in that weight class to be unfounded, imo.
I haven't watched any MA for a while before this one, and I noticed that the incredibly annoying "let's whoop in turn and draw attention to ourselves" tradition from American E-sports events has made its way into the UFC. It's shit.
Some interesting matchups in here....most notably Zabit v Jose Aldo
Sounds like it might be Aldo vs. Volkanovski.
I think he's a bit of a problem for the UFC Aldo in these last couple of fights. He beats everyone except Max so the division is kind of wiped out without Holloway facing anyone.
I had to go to take a leak while Bruce Buffer was presenting the fighters. While on it, I could hear when the fight started, so I had to rush back to the TV room, my pants were still down to my knees haha. A mate (casual) that I invited to watch the fights was like "WTF?" and i was like "Man, this fight could end any second, lucky its not over yet" (i missed probably the first 15-20 seconds of the fight).
Just a few seconds later and my man Misha was smashed. My friend was "holy shit, you were right"
.This is pretty cool. Shows Smith is keen to improve and how good Jon (and GSP) are to face.
I always find it surprising when fighters say how they didn't execute their gameplan against Jones, and make it sound like they just forgot the plan. I'd guess if they were willing to admit it, it would be that they can't get inside kicking distance because it bloody hurts getting caught with those kicks trying to do so.
Jones may not have be the most concussive power but he must have some of the hurtful strikes of anyone fighting in MMA.
Yeah I think a lot of it is a pride thing. I think Hardy and Smith break it down well in respect to both GSP and Jones in that they get in there thinking it can be done but then they realise it's harder than it looks. It's basically admitting you're beaten by a better fighter and none of them really like admitting that.
I think they are scared of looking a bit daft as well. Basically before it saying the plan then realising the plan was never going to work in hindsight. I don't think it does personally, think you look more stupid if you get outclassed for 5 rounds and then still won't admit the other guy is a better fighter.
He is just a phenomenal fighter really, hardly seen someone with such a broad range, just so complete.Ped's or not Jones is an animal. Just a sensational fighter. And this is coming from DC nuthugger.
I'm sure there was something not right with him. He was way too passive and powerless, it just didnt look right. Nevertheless, I have a lot of respect how he handled that loss, for me, still one of the best