Official Mixed Martial Arts Thread

[Oracle]

Connor wants equity, good on him though. 

 

I wonder what what his net worth will be now? Currently $22 million.

[Gotters]

great card, delivered in spades and I even watched the undercard

 

Khabib looked pretty amazing and can see why he seems a bad match for anybody, especially Conor. His ground game tying up legs and arms was scary, lucky he doesn't seem that powerful in striking otherwise he'd be even more terrifying.

 

Delighted to see Weidman get smashed like that, never liked him and the fall of him and Rockhold has been very satisfying. Romero is a freaky athlete who goes from lazy and sloppy looking to a threshing machine in a split second.

 

Tough fight for JJ vs KK, she showed some proper champion heart to get thru the tough spots but overall her striking and footwork were very impressive, agree with the Cruz comparisons in commentary

 

Couldn't care less for Woodley winning, the bloke has been filming the whole week on his phone like a tourist and that is as narrow a squeaky retention as you can get. Impressed by Thompson's heart but like Machida before him from the karate background he needs to add more output to his game as just countering all the time is effective but doesn't always go well on a scorecard. Like Thompson though, he's a bit cheesy but seems a nice guy and proved some toughness in this fight.

 

Finally Conor sure does backup the talk, he dismantled Alvarez totally and the gulf in class was just huge. His combo's and accuracy in particular impressed and he's taken a huge payday and hardly had a scratch put on him.

 

Great card, one of the best I can recall.

[Doomguy]

Man, that Weidman KO was mad. Reminded me of when Alves KO'd Matt Hughes when he shot for a double. For all his bitching and moaning it is starting to seem he was merely a fighter of circumstance - he beat a 'who's who' but it was of fighters who were over the hill.

 

The Conor finishing combo was brilliant. I remember him saying half the battle is mental warfare and it certainly seemed that way as I've never seen such a shite performance from Alvarez. 

 

Really pleased Edgar picked up a win in his backyard too.  

[angel]

This is what I was meaning, everyone was saying alvarez was withstanding the mental warfare, but I really think he didnt at all.

 

Pretty good event all in all, warming to woodley a bit more, the bisping / romero face off was amusing, I really dont think Conor can take Khabib though. He stands as good a chance as anybody, but man thats a tough ask.  MJ is no joke, but Khabib folded him like a deck chair, it was incredible.

[Tourist]

I don't think it was anything to do with mental warfare. McGregor is just the better fighter.

[Doomguy]

He didn't look phased at all in the run up. In fact eddie seemed to be enjoying the experience. 

 

Question now is, will Conor defend at 145lbs?

 

I'd love to see an Aldo rematch. 

 

Edit:

 

Oh dear. Watching the post fight conference and Woodley is making a twat of himself again.

 

"How many of you guys want to see me and Conor fight?"

 

*Silence*

[Gotters]

31 minutes ago, Tourist said:

I don't think it was anything to do with mental warfare. McGregor is just the better fighter.

 

i was thinking about this whilst blowing leaves around in the garden just now - in this case Conor didn't break Alvarez mentally (like Aldo and in some respects Diaz) but I wonder if his opponents struggle with the level of circus and attention that his bouts get.

 

there is just no training for it and these introspective 'I'll fight whoever Mr White wants me to' types just aren't ready for the intensity of the fight week build up.

 

 

 

 

[angel]

Very classy post fight from eddie, hats off

 

 

[Gotters]

fair play for not being bitter about it but confessing the plan was to kick and wrestle not have a stand up fight, having just been battered in a stand up fight, is an odd admission !

[Tofu]

That was the most impressive championship win I have ever seen, you don't go against a champion and make him look this way. RDA and Cain did it over 5 rounds grind but Conor did in 2 rounds while looks like a kung-fu master and not one or two drops but like 5.

 

If you don't have longer reach and crisp boxing, good luck this guy will eat you like a dessert.

[Scratchy Bollock]

So is the general consensus that Conor has proved he's more than just hype now? I know there's been a lot of doubt and there's been a suggestion by some that he's a better self-promoter than a fighter, but he's racking up quite the CV isn't he?

[Gotters]

anybody who claims he's all mouth doesn't watch the sport.

 

what he has done though is manage his hand perfectly, and some chips have fallen very nicely for him (like RDA & Cowboy being taken out his immediate path by Alvarez)

 

at the moment he's by far the biggest name in the sport, and is backing up his gob.

 

I had to go on media blackout this morning as even the radio & BBC were going to report on this event

[krenzler]

So is it UFC or McGregor (or both) that aren't interested in Nurmagomedov as the next match - if that is the case?

 

What's the relevance of a Diaz v.3 fight - I don't see the appeal?

 

[angel]

14 minutes ago, krenzler said:

So is it UFC or McGregor (or both) that aren't interested in Nurmagomedov as the next match - if that is the case?

 

What's the relevance of a Diaz v.3 fight - I don't see the appeal?

 

 

$$$

[Gotters]

Diaz has no relevance as a title level fighter at the moment, he was a late stand in who scored a shock win, if the UFC wants to be taken as a serious sport he needs to work his way to a title shot at Conor.

 

Of course as Angel says above some things speak louder than such logic

[Tofu]

hahaha, he's a cocky shit but he damn owns it.

[Doomguy]

36 minutes ago, Scratchy Bollock said:

So is the general consensus that Conor has proved he's more than just hype now? I know there's been a lot of doubt and there's been a suggestion by some that he's a better self-promoter than a fighter, but he's racking up quite the CV isn't he?

 

He's backed up everything he's said. I don't think he's technically on another level or anything like that but he has the ability to defeat his opponent before they've stepped into the cage; I can't think of any fighters other than prime Anderson or Wand with that ability. 

[Corrogate]

1 hour ago, Scratchy Bollock said:

So is the general consensus that Conor has proved he's more than just hype now? I know there's been a lot of doubt and there's been a suggestion by some that he's a better self-promoter than a fighter, but he's racking up quite the CV isn't he?

 

Controversial, but I think he's about 70% of the way there, and here's why:

 

He fights nowhere near his natural weight, he cuts a hell of a lot of to be fighting in the 145lb and 155lb divisions. He's got tremendous skill; no question about that, but his main advantage in these categories outside of that is his size.

 

He fought a durable fighter in Diaz - a household name but nowhere near championship level - and was able to showcase some great striking, but lost, and on the rematch won decisively but ultimately had a real fight on his hands.

 

If McGregor can find the stones to fight at 170lbs and still walk through his opponents, then he lives up to the height.

[Corrogate]

His takedown defense has got a lot better too though, and he's been throwing great knees in the clinch.

[krenzler]

I thought that 155 is the proper class for Conor. At 170 he loses speed and stamina and his power is negated.

 

He doesn't look famished at the 155 weigh-in either. 

 

So some people are already talking up a Woodley McGregor fight but would it be fair to (hypothetically) carry 3 belts without having defended a title just once?

 

[Corrogate]

I guess; Ferguson's a tall 155lber I guess. And there's problems there for him, as well as with Khabib.

 

 

[angel]

Ferguson gets hit, I think Conor despatches him easily, but I would give Conor maybe 40, 50% chance against Khabib.  Conor's bigger, has better striking, timing and all of the rest over Johnson, but Khabib just gets you to the ground. A lot of his tds in this fight were 2nd, 3rd 'phases' of the takedown, where it looked like they'd been defended, but somehow he bounced him off the cage, or rolled him over, tripped him up.

 

Even compared to the likes of GSP, I don't think I've ever seen someone as relentless as Khabib, and then with such domination once you're down. I mean arm traps and mounted crucifixes, smashing MJs face in against the fence. Conor would be wise to avoid, and he's already put his reasons out there (calling him inconsistent and someone who pulls out too much). But take nothing away, it's Conors night, he's going to be a dad, he's made history, his brand just eclipsed Rouseys as if that was ever in doubt, and they're going to have to give him equity. What a night.

[schmojo]

Great card, and easily Conor's best performance. He made Eddie look completely ineffectual. There are still a lot of fights that are dangerous for him to take, but his absolute control was masterful. I'd wanted Eddie to win mostly to give the 155lb division some credibility, but Conor's doing something entirely different here, and it's probably more important. It's certainly more seismic

 

Edgar had a tough time with Stephens, who has insane TDD and scrambling. I no longer think that he handles Conor, but with 145 stagnant, his rumoured 135 move could be fun.

 

Romero was an absolute beast once he uncorked that wrestling. So slick - probably the best I've seen in the cage. It seems insane that he doesn't go to it sooner. Nasty bleed from Weidman too. Who has some real rebuilding to do.

 

As everyone's said, Nurmagomedov is scary as hell. That belt has to be around his waist as soon as Dana gives him the chance. Though with the current mess, it'll probably be some interim belt consolation prize. He did eat some shots, but I can't see anyone nullifying that wrestling.

 

 

[Doomguy]

58 minutes ago, schmojo said:

Romero was an absolute beast once he uncorked that wrestling. So slick - probably the best I've seen in the cage. It seems insane that he doesn't go to it sooner. Nasty bleed from Weidman too. Who has some real rebuilding to do.

 

 

Wonder where Weidman goes from here. I was looking through his record to see just how much truth there is to him only fighting old guys and the majority really are in the 35-40 year old range. He's only fought two guys ever who are his age at all. That's nuts. 

[Nomad]

That was an incredible card. You can not help take a moment to take in all of what Conor has done, in just short 4 years, from being on the dole to getting equity in a 4 billion dollar company. I picked Alvarez but was pleased to see Conor pick the win. And boy that post fight interview was incredible! 

 

Was also so happy for Edgar. Romero is a beast, I heard that crack sound in my bones. 

[skittles]

I take back what I said about Woodley being a twat. I thought he came across excellently in his post fight presser. 

 

 

[Larsen B]

10 hours ago, Hellcock said:

I take back what I said about Woodley being a twat. I thought he came across excellently in his post fight presser. 

 

Though I was behind Wonderboy, I completely empathised with Woodley after the fight when the result got re-announced. That look of panicked horror and his body completely shutting down as he feared the worst. Poor dude.

[angel]

That was so weird, as soon as BB said 47-47, 47-47 I was like uhuh majority draw. Then they managed to not have conors 2nd belt ready, honestly this 'new' UFC are really fucking some things up. Conor was mad and rightly so.

[Kebabilicious]

On 11/13/2016 at 14:07, Gotters said:

fair play for not being bitter about it but confessing the plan was to kick and wrestle not have a stand up fight, having just been battered in a stand up fight, is an odd admission !

 

I liked that he just admitted that he fucked up the plan. I think that was his way of saying Conor got in his head. I thought Alvarez was going to win until I saw the last press conference. Something seemed off with him. I think, as Conor has so many times, his head was consumed. He fought emotional and didn't stick to the plan. Fair play for finding a way to say hat, essentially.

 

On 11/13/2016 at 15:15, krenzler said:

So is it UFC or McGregor (or both) that aren't interested in Nurmagomedov as the next match - if that is the case?

 

What's the relevance of a Diaz v.3 fight - I don't see the appeal?

 

 

I think Conor would fight him because I do believe he'd fight anybody, but just because he'd fight anybody doesn't meant that he'd beat anybody. Conor knows he could possibly beat him, but knows there's a huge risk. Whilst the UFC hardcore want to see that fight, the general public aren't overly interested, so for Conor, whilst I think he would fight him, there's just no incentive there. 
 

On 11/13/2016 at 15:35, Stevedave said:

 

He's backed up everything he's said. I don't think he's technically on another level or anything like that but he has the ability to defeat his opponent before they've stepped into the cage; I can't think of any fighters other than prime Anderson or Wand with that ability. 

He has, and the thing that people aren't remembering here is that when Conor re-matched Nate, it was Conor who didn't want to change the weight to 155. I think it's a much easier fight for Conor (vs Nate) at 155, but the fact he didn't want any parameters changed shows that he wants his records and his victories, but doesn't want them tarnished with questions about weight class etc. 
 

On 11/13/2016 at 16:01, Corrogate said:

 

Controversial, but I think he's about 70% of the way there, and here's why:

 

He fights nowhere near his natural weight, he cuts a hell of a lot of to be fighting in the 145lb and 155lb divisions. He's got tremendous skill; no question about that, but his main advantage in these categories outside of that is his size.

 

He fought a durable fighter in Diaz - a household name but nowhere near championship level - and was able to showcase some great striking, but lost, and on the rematch won decisively but ultimately had a real fight on his hands.

 

If McGregor can find the stones to fight at 170lbs and still walk through his opponents, then he lives up to the height.

 

Nah, he walks around a legit 170, he's cutting 15lbs. It's not nothing, but it's minor cuting compared to many many other guys.

I don't think it's the stones that he lacks for the fight at 170. It's the time. I think given a year at 155, the next place is 170. If you're going to go up in weight like that, it needs to be done right. Take your time, eat well and build yourself slowly. I feel that Conor would easily change up to 170, but not just to take a quick fight. I think ultimately, that's where he'll end up (Woodley anyone?), but it won't be in the foreseeable future. That said, maybe I'm wrong and Maybe him and Woodley is next in line? Maybe we've all been played. Three weight champ, anyone?

 

On 11/13/2016 at 16:03, Corrogate said:

His takedown defense has got a lot better too though, and he's been throwing great knees in the clinch.

He looked sharp against Alvarez. Much less panicked than he was when grappling with Nate, but then again, maybe he just isn't as worried about Eddie's grappling as he is Nate's?

 

15 hours ago, Hellcock said:

I take back what I said about Woodley being a twat. I thought he came across excellently in his post fight presser. 

 

 

I hated Woodley up until this event. The pre-fight press conferences, his denoueme, his performance and his awesome post-fight attitude have turned me around on him 100%. He wins the rematch (which is bound to happen) with Wonderboy and you may have another Superstar on your hands. Not GSP/Conor/Rousey level, but a star alright. 

[angel]

I didnt mind woodley this time around, but they need to quash this conor v woodley talk, else we'd be looking at the 1st octagon decapitation.  Conors proven his skill beyond doubt, but woodley will walk in that cage close to 200 pounds, and absolutely pulverise him. He knows it though, it's all just leverage.