The MMA Thread: DON'T ASK 4 STREAMS & NO GIFS- UFC 300 ON NOW

[thehealthinspector]

he hasnt said anything but im sure its the case

im sure that if pettis won, he would have stepped up, but with RDA wining, i doubt he moves up

 

[spiderjericho]

Why did Anderson fight Vitor and Thale Leites (sp)?

It seems it's mostly an issue when they're in the same camp (Barao/Aldo) or friends (Anderson with Sousa and Machida).

 

[sofa king awsm]

Rafael Cordeiro has to get credit for RDA's improve striking.

no doubt.

training at evolve mma too. they have a crap load of muay thai world champions there :x

rda is sought out the best.

 

[thehealthinspector]

Why did Anderson fight Vitor and Thale Leites (sp)?

It seems it's mostly an issue when they're in the same camp (Barao/Aldo) or friends (Anderson with Sousa and Machida).

aldo isnt any of those guys

and theres a difference between defending your belt and trying to take someone else's

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

"I have a tough fight with McGregor, and that´s my goal now. After that fight, you will know what is gonna happen. The UFC knows, I know, and everything is already set."

"As soon as I beat McGregor, you will know what´s gonna be my next step."

People would naturally assume he's talking about a super-fight, but according to Aldo, he doesn't expect any of the two American champions close to his weight to win their next title bouts:

"It would be a dream to unify belts in other divisions, but Renan Barao is in his prime now and will beat him. As far as unifying belts in other divisions, I made that request many times but it was never granted. I would deserve that first," Aldo joked.

... "Rafael is showing a great evolution lately, and I believe he has the tools to beat Pettis," Aldo said. "I really expect that, because Brazil never had a champion in that division."

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/3/1...nouncement-following-title-bout-against-conor

 

[smedroc]

Big Country needs the excess lbs at HW imo. The extra insulation keeps him safe

Reem usually melts dudes with the knees but Roy just kept on rolling. Even took a flying knee to the jaw

Either he cuts it all And drops to 205 or he keeps rocking it how he is at HW.


And i think Pettis is getting **** because he is pretty and flashy. Sure other dudes like Cerrone are out there too but your detractors don't surface until you lose.

 

[nelson999]

Pettis got straight washed man. One of the most pathetic performances from a Champion defending his belt that i can remember

 

[champcruthik]

One of the most pathetic performances from a Champion defending his belt that i can remember

Couldn't be further from the truth. I have no allegiance to Pettis nor a reason to defend him, but he showed the heart of a champion. I noticed right away in R1 the injury growing under Pettis' right eye. That type of injury only gets worse as the fight continues, especially a 5-round bout. I believe "Showtime" had visibility issues from the onset of R2. Pettis had numerous opportunities to relinquish his belt easily but instead, he went out on his shield. You could tell he had no energy or power behind his punches by the end of R4, but he was actively trying to land a big high kick in the stand-up. RDA was just a smart veteran and solidified his victory with takedowns, not allowing Pettis even a glimmer of hope to land a desperate KO shot. Furthermore, for those who appreciate jiu-jitsu, "Showtime" fought off RDA's kimura attempt valiantly. Not allowing his hands to be separated despite an emptied gas tank and getting beat down for the better part of four rounds. Classy in defeat too, made no excuses and gave dos Anjos his props in the octagon and on Twitter.

With that being said, I didn't see this type of result coming. Not from RDA, more so from Khabib assuming he gets past "Cowboy." Many of us recognized this was the route to defeat Pettis and Cordeiro exploited it perfectly. You have to pressure fight "Showtime." Close the distance so he can't let off those vicious, athletic kicks. Pettis isn't comfortable being pressed against the cage. Gil tried to do it in R1 of their fight, just got caught with a deep guillotine next round. Roufus kept telling Anthony too, don't let him pin you against the cage. Either reverse or circle away. It's also very clear Pettis' takedown defense needs more work. He came a long way since the Guida fight, but any dream of recapturing the 155 title is contingent upon being better prepared for a RDA rematch or Nurmagomedov fight.

Lastly, dos Anjos' elite BJJ made it difficult for Pettis to be active off his back. You saw glimpses of an armbar and arm-triangle attempt, but dos Anjos was too smart and a step ahead with his grappling. Too much of a veteran to get caught in a submission trap. That discouraged "Showtime" from R3 onward. He stopped working jiu-jitsu from his guard.

 

[champcruthik]

Reem usually melts dudes with the knees but Roy just kept on rolling.

"Big Country" has a granite chin for the HW division. Only Hunt and "Pit Bull" have finished him. His beard earned my respect when prime "Cigano" couldn't finish Nelson.

One positive for Overeem is that Dos Santos isn't the same fighter.

Truth. I ride for JDS in the HW division, but his game has been eroded after two beatdowns by Cain and the recent war with Stipe, which he barely won. Dos Santos is vulnerable breaking from the clinch, he drops his hands and looks away. Miocic was picking him apart with that in the earlier rounds. JDS has a good takedown defense for the most part, but upper-echelon wrestlers can put "Cigano" on his back. Plus he hasn't shown an active guard recently despite being a BJJ black belt. Lastly, his cardio is a major concern in the championship rounds. Mouth open, breathing heavy. Instead of stringing together combinations with his boxing, JDS is trying to land the haymaker he shattered Cain with in 2011.

Rafael Cordeiro has to get credit for RDA's improve striking.

He tightened up Werdum's striking immensely as well.

aldo isnt going to fight another brazilian champion

That's false, IMO. Aldo's aversion is to fighting Nova Uniao guys, like Barao. Not all Brasilians. Moot point anyway, Khabib is going to cruise to decision against Cerrone and forcibly take RDA's strap.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

 
Pettis got straight washed man. One of the most pathetic performances from a Champion defending his belt that i can remember

Dude, wut

RDA was straight Terminator mode walking through HARD body and head kicks from Pettis throughout the entire fight

Pettis' cardio really didn't slow down, he was throwing for 25 minutes and a lot of his connected strikes would have put down most other men

What exactly was pathetic about his performance

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Couldn't be further from the truth. I have no allegiance to Pettis nor a reason to defend him, but he showed the heart of a champion. I noticed right away in R1 the injury growing under Pettis' right eye. That type of injury only gets worse as the fight continues, especially a 5-round bout. I believe "Showtime" had visibility issues from the onset of R2. Pettis had numerous opportunities to relinquish his belt easily but instead, he went out on his shield. You could tell he had no energy or power behind his punches by the end of R4, but he was actively trying to land a big high kick in the stand-up. RDA was just a smart veteran and solidified his victory with takedowns, not allowing Pettis even a glimmer of hope to land a desperate KO shot. Furthermore, for those who appreciate jiu-jitsu, "Showtime" fought off RDA's kimura attempt valiantly. Not allowing his hands to be separated despite an emptied gas tank and getting beat down for the better part of four rounds. Classy in defeat too, made no excuses and gave dos Anjos his props in the octagon and on Twitter.

With that being said, I didn't see this type of result coming. Not from RDA, more so from Khabib assuming he gets past "Cowboy." Many of us recognized this was the route to defeat Pettis and Cordeiro exploited it perfectly. You have to pressure fight "Showtime." Close the distance so he can't let off those vicious, athletic kicks. Pettis isn't comfortable being pressed against the cage. Gil tried to do it in R1 of their fight, just got caught with a deep guillotine next round. Roufus kept telling Anthony too, don't let him pin you against the cage. Either reverse or circle away. It's also very clear Pettis' takedown defense needs more work. He came a long way since the Guida fight, but any dream of recapturing the 155 title is contingent upon being better prepared for a RDA rematch or Nurmagomedov fight.

Lastly, dos Anjos' elite BJJ made it difficult for Pettis to be active off his back. You saw glimpses of an armbar and arm-triangle attempt, but dos Anjos was too smart and a step ahead with his grappling. Too much of a veteran to get caught in a submission trap. That discouraged "Showtime" from R3 onward. He stopped working jiu-jitsu from his guard.

I also disagree slightly with you Champ. Khabib would NEVER be able to land these types of strikes, he isn't half the striker RDA is right now. The ideal gameplan to defeat Pettis is indeed to pressure him but that's easier said than done. Gilbert PRESSURED Pettis TOUGH and Pettis finished him with a freaking guillotine choke. On some other worldy stuff, you don't just choke out Gilbert, much less a GUILLOTINE

RDA was able to effectively pressure Pettis because of that world class striking that he possesses now. That was not the game plan ANYONE saw coming. Who would have ever thought RDA would outstrike Pettis? RDA stood toe to toe with him, stood in front of him and exchanged blow for blow with him in the pocket

Granted, Pettis couldn't see after the first round, but give RDA credit for landing a HUGE hook to his eye

At this point Khabib is licking his chops though, he would have hugged Pettis for 25 minutes probably to a W

 

[champcruthik]

Pettis' cardio really didn't slow down

In that regard, I was impressed. Pettis was on his back most of the fight absorbing ground and pound without vision in one eye. But his will never died even after the kimura attempt. In the championship rounds, "Showtime" was still light on his feet and bouncing around with movement in the stand-up. Again, RDA was smart and finished his takedowns to kill any chance at a desperate Pettis KO. You can tell Anthony was trying to heed Roufus' advice for a finish. His hands had no pop left by the final round and dos Anjos was very wary of the high head kick.

Overall a bad night for the Pettis brothers. Serg worked Benoit in the first round. Bit unlucky, fluky to get KO'ed. Think it was a short left hook Benoit threw. Kicking him in the behind after the ref stopped it was bad sportsmanship. Sergio wins a rematch if they ever meet again at flyweight.

 

[SORIANOTRON]

pettis was broken by the 3rd round....

you can see it when he kept looking up at the clock/monitor every time he got taken down. That panic set in early.

I agree, it was one of the more disappointing title defenses I have seen in recent memory

congrats to RDA, fight of the year for me so far.

 

[dman14]

that first punch really set the tone. pettis eye was messed up, knew it was gonna be a long night once he saw Rda eat his kicks like it was nothing
pettis showed a lot of heart staying in there for 5 rounds and taking a beating
if that was a regular fight, i wouldnt be surprised if he didnt finish it due to that eye injury

 

[king of chicago]

I've always enjoyed reading these articles by Jack Slack

HOW RAFAEL DOS ANJOS KILLED THE KING

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

You don't have to be the best fighter in the world to win a UFC title. That might not gel with what you've been told all your life, but it's the truth. To become a UFC champion you just have to keep winning, and that's the hard part.

You needn't be the fastest or the strongest or the slickest fighter in the world. The path to a title is a series of binary relationships. You are the strong or the weaker, the faster or the slower, and the crisper or wilder fighter in each match up. The difference between a talented fighter and a truly great fighter is the ability to manipulate the dynamic of a fight to favor his positive attributes and diminish his opponent's.

Rafael dos Anjos isn't as fast as Anthony Pettis, he's not as crisp in exchanges, he doesn't have as many tools on the feet, and yet he beat Pettis from pillar to post over five rounds. And, as with almost any performance in our Killing the King series, the key was not finding some secret weakness, it was simply in denying the strengths.

The Fence as a Friend

In Secrets of the Pettis Kick we examined Pettis' go to kicking technique. Whether leading with his left leg or his right leg, his rear leg is the money kick. Using a lengthier, traditional martial arts stance, Pettis removes all telegraph from his kicks by not stepping, shuffling, or otherwise showing his intentions before he kicks. That lead heel pivots in and Pettis leaps into the kick. It was beautiful stuff that winded both Benson Henderson and Donald Cerrone when they lingered at long range.

Watch that left heel sneak in before Pettis begins the kick.

At the opening bell, Rafael dos Anjos came out and immediately forced Pettis towards the fence. Pettis likes to circle the cage anyway, so he went halfway on his own and then found that every time he gave an inch, Dos Anjos would take a foot. A fighter doesn't have to be physically touching a fence to be affected by it—the space between Dos Anjos and the fence was reduced so significantly that Pettis was forced to adopt a significantly shorter stance and denied all forms of retreat.

Not only did Dos Anjos' pressure and the fence remove the long stance Pettis uses to throw his kicks without telegraph, it removed much of the power in his punches too.

A habit of both Pettis brothers is circling the less conventional way from Open Guard (southpaw vs. orthdox). Rather than looking to get their lead foot outside of their opponent's—shortening the path of their rear leg kick—they circle to get their foot inside.


Against Joe Lauzon, Pettis constantly circled towards Lauzon's right side. This led Lauzon to believe that right low kicks would be coming.

The last thing Lauzon was thinking about as Pettis continued circling was the left high kick.

Pettis' consistent circling to Dos Anjos' left exposed him to a great many power kicks. There was much to remind us of Fedor Emelianenko's masterful dismantling of Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic in this bout. Keeping the kicker on the back foot, striking in flurries into clinches. But there was also something of Filipovic in Dos Anjos as he masterfully paired the left round kick and the left straight in a double attack that we hadn't seen him use nearly as effectively before.

Remembering that a double attack—rather than the two handed blows you see in traditional martial arts—is two techniques which play off of each other perfectly. They look similar, but the opponent's reactions to each exposes him to the other. For a southpaw the rear leg round kick and rear straight are a classic. If the opponent is keeping their forearm rigidly up to defend the round kicks, the straight sneaks quickly inside of it. If he starts parrying the straight, the kicks can just smash through his arm when it's out of position. As soon as the fighter's hip and shoulder start twitching forward, either could be coming and, against a man truly skilled in both, defense is reduced to guesswork.

Mirko Cro Cop's left straight dragging Igor Vovchanchyn's right hand out of position.

Dos Anjos wasn't elusive, he got touched up a fair bit, but that is par for the course when cutting off the ring and bringing the pressure. You cannot be elusive and push the pace of a fight. But when he was hit, it was by a panicked Pettis, a Pettis fighting from a short stance or with his feet level as he tried to escape the Dos Anjos-and-fence sandwich he had been placed inside.

Notice below that Pettis throws a 1-2 onto Dos Anjos' forearms, Dos Anjos comes in behind that wicked long left to the body, and lands a decent right hook on the other side. He collapses Pettis' stance as he drives in, and rolls off Pettis' right hands on his left shoulder.

Just a function of good form—being ready to stay behind one's shoulder after a punch—but the reverse shoulder roll was a favorite of Jersey Joe Walcott, which makes it A-Okay in this writer's book.

Still the smoothest thing to ever lace up gloves.

Dos Anjos' work to block shots throughout the fight was wonderful. Showing some of his traditional Muay Thai chops, Dos Anjos repeatedly went to a long guard (or in boxing a hybrid of a leverage guard and a folding guard / half cross guard, as used by a young George Foreman).

Lead hand straight out, shoulder raised, rear elbow in front of the jawline and forearm across the front. Giorgio Petrosyan and Buakaw are both masters at using this turtle like position, Buakaw even ends his jab in this position sometimes—as he did extensively against Nieky Holzken in K-1.

Here he uses the same sort of position—one elbow and forearm shielding while the other extends—to stiff arm Pettis away from him mid-flurry.

If we can learn anything from Alistair Overeem's cross-over in K-1 and MMA, it's that big gloves changes the game. There are still fighters who believe that having their hands up in a traditional “ear muffs” cover up will save them. It is the shoulders, elbows and forearms, the skeletal structure, which will protect a fighter under fire in 4oz gloves.

The Art of Aggression

Credit needs to be given to Rafael Cordeiro. I've mentioned in the past that he doesn't produce the most diverse or technical strikers, but the confidence his methods breed in fighters and the tricks they develop under him carry fights. They say you cannot develop toughness, but I feel Cordeiro has come close at both his Chute Boxe and Kings MMA camps.

A look at Beneil Dariush's performance against Daron Cruickshank further down the UFC 185 card will illustrate my meaning. Dariush looked herky jerky at times, lunging face first in on a few of his strikes, but the confidence and aggression with which he did it—and that same pin-point accurate round kick to the body—had Cruickshank looking for a way out.

I'm sure that I don't need to tell you that leading with your face, and charging between strikes is flawed on a technical level, but if the guy you're fighting just can't stop it, does it really matter? There is, and always has been, much more to striking than textbook form. The intangibles of pressure, distancing, timing and anticipation will always be of more value that strict textbook striking technique.

Cruickshank ended up trying to take the fight to the ground against a world class Jiu Jitsu player, and was submitted for his trouble.

The aggression and toughness that Dos Anjos has developed, along with a couple of money strikes, carried the standing portion of the fight. He went to the fence, but he used it as his ally rather than a surface to hold Pettis against. There was none of Gilbert Melendez's straining to hold a clinch and doing no damage. Dos Anjos worked Pettis over in striking range, only moving to a clinch when he fancied he could do more there. No stalling, all action, until the end of round one, when he attempted his first takedown which came effortlessly.

And that was the fight. Dos Anjos pushing forward, Pettis circling the cage and getting roughed up en route. In round three, Pettis finally started circling towards Dos Anjos' lead side, and Dos Anjos seemed clueless for a little while. Then Dos Anjos remembered he had a pretty good right hook, used it to stop Pettis' motion, land a left to the body, and get in on Pettis' hips for another easy takedown along the fence.

Dos Anjos' right hook began to appear more and more, and Pettis ran out of places to go.

By the fifth round, Pettis was just surviving. He had gone from stalling out the great Brazilian Jiu Jitsu player in his guard when it hit the ground to giving up his back and fighting off attacks from there. When the final bell rang, there was no doubt who had won.

What Does It All Mean?

Rafael Dos Anjos looked simply sublime. Not only was his game plan tailor made for roughing up a sharper distance striker and taking away Pettis' A-game, he looked mechanically crisper than we've ever seen him before. The pace he drove was furious and it was exactly the sort of fight which fight fans are always calling for—a stellar performance in all areas of the game and five rounds of domination to take the title from the champion.

Pettis, sadly, is being thrown on the slop heap by some fans already. Treated as if he somehow fluked his way to finishes over Benson Henderson, Donald Cerrone, and Gilbert Melendez. Others are saying how could you ever consider a man with such an obvious deficit against pressure as a great fighter?

Truth is, if your list of great fighters is only going to include complete fighters, you're going to be left holding a blank page. Anderson Silva was a B-grade fighter when forced to lead, Georges St. Pierre became so reliant on his jab that when it was taken away by handfighting he looked lost, even the great Muhammad Ali struggled with simultaneous counter jabs and could not have beaten his best opponents without a great deal of illegal holding.

If you want to buy the fight hype, where everyone is unbeatable until they're not, then no—Pettis isn't a great fighter. If you want to assess fighters on their actual ability, understanding that everyone has nightmare match ups and counter strategies, the question needn't even be asked.

For Pettis, the key is to go away and work on effectively reversing position when pressured towards the fence—because that is what every smart lightweight he meets will now be attempting. He needs to find a way to duck in on his opponent's waist and turn him, or work on his rapid direction shifts a la Eddie Alvarez when he ran circles around Michael Chandler.

For Rafael Dos Anjos? A rematch is on the way. Could be with Donald Cerrone, a fighter who he bested but who has turned around so much technically in the last few months that he might as well be a different man. Or it could be with Khabib Nurmagomedov, the last man to defeat Dos Anjos by merit of his terrific wrestling. It's all down to who wins the Cerrone-Nurmagomedov match up in May.

Perhaps the most important lesson to take away from this fight is that Rafael Dos Anjos doesn't have a whole ton of tools on the feet, yet he picked apart the consensus best striker in the division. Strategy and ring position are far more important than number or length of combinations. Perhaps Dos Anjos will be that rarest of champions—the one who, rather than presenting a problem, comes in to solve them. A different fighter in every fight. We can hope. In the meantime, let's revel in his performance a little longer.

 

[champcruthik]

Khabib would NEVER be able to land these types of strikes, he isn't half the striker RDA is right now.

Who would have ever thought RDA would outstrike Pettis?

Aside from the left hook that caused Pettis' eye injury, "Showtime" was hanging in there with the boxing exchanges. Let me be clear, dos Anjos' boxing specifically is vastly improved. Credit to Cordeiro, just like he did with Werdum. However, I personally don't believe it was RDA's boxing that was backing Pettis up and pinning him against the cage. For me, it was the left body kick that was landing at will. "Showtime" was barely blocking it or defending the right side of his body, which is wide open from a southpaw stance.

Khabib has already defeated RDA in his most recent win, but my reasoning for picking Nurmagomedov over "Cowboy" and Pettis remains the same. Cerrone's biggest weapon is kickboxing. What makes a kickboxer hesitant to throw their patented kicks? Fear of the takedown, which is Khabib's strength, wrestling. Nurmagomedov rendered RDA virtually useless in their first fight because dos Anjos was unable to effectively implement his trademark leg and body kicks. Although dos Anjos' jiu-jitsu is unquestionably elite, Khabib is equally the high-level grappler. I told @DeadsetAce Khabib would wash Pettis if "Showtime" beat RDA. Similar to the gameplan utilized by RDA and Cordeiro. Pressure fight Pettis, he's not comfortable on the back heel moving backwards. Limited distance for his athletic kicks. Susceptible to the takedown, which RDA was finishing his attempts beautifully.

congrats to RDA, fight of the year for me so far.

Leites/Timmy is FOTY so far for me.

if that was a regular fight, i wouldnt be surprised if he didnt finish it due to that eye injury

Closest RDA came to finishing the fight was the kimura attempt. Pettis was done if dos Anjos separated his hands and both fighters knew it.

 

[champcruthik]

king of chicago , read through Slack's analysis. He did well to dissect the stand-up aspect, but failed to mention dos Anjos' ground work from top position. Simple, subtle things like covering Pettis' mouth in the mid-to-late rounds. More importantly, RDA's submission defense against two armbar attempts and a completely failed arm-triangle. Then came the offensive jiu-jitsu from top control. Working diligently to separate Pettis' hands for a kimura, which was closer than most viewers realized. Effective ground and pound landing strikes, and securing position to not allow Pettis easily back to his feet.

I do agree strongly with Slack's point about distance. Because of that and fatigue, Pettis had no mustard behind his punches from R4 onward. Also didn't have the range to hit the powerful high kick as dos Anjos closed the gap constantly.

 

[smedroc]

pettis was broken by the 3rd round....

you can see it when he kept looking up at the clock/monitor every time he got taken down. That panic set in early.

I agree, it was one of the more disappointing title defenses I have seen in recent memory

congrats to RDA, fight of the year for me so far.

There's breaking and there's running out of options... You can only carry so much ammo into a fight.

By the 3rd rnd Pettis had exhausted his options. Punches, kicks, not threatening from the guard and his TDD was no where near good enough.

He never stopped working but he just wasn't having any success anywhere.

 

[SORIANOTRON]

There's breaking and there's running out of options... You can only carry so much ammo into a fight.

By the 3rd rnd Pettis had exhausted his options. Punches, kicks, not threatening from the guard and his TDD was no where near good enough.

He never stopped working but he just wasn't having any success anywhere.

yeah i understand the difference, I thought he broke.

everyone talking about he had heart to fight through 5 rounds ....

what else he gonna do, just quit between rounds?

man there was no DESPERATION after the 2nd round, just felt like he was going through the motions.....

Its a good experience for pettis, he got to see adversity up close and personal, Im sure he comes back a better fighter...

I thought after he ate that punch and his eye closed, he still could have fought through it and found a way to win....but he didn't, he folded up...couldn't even grab 1 round.

 

[champcruthik]

what else he gonna do, just quit between rounds?

I thought after he ate that punch and his eye closed, he still could have fought through it and found a way to win....but he didn't, he folded up...couldn't even grab 1 round.

I respectfully disagree, but I'll leave the matter alone after this final post.

Pettis had every opportunity to quit with the R4 kimura attempt. An example of a quality fighter having his will broken? Frankie's R5 neck crank on Cub to close the fight so close to the bell. Granted the belt wasn't on the line, but still a similar 50-45 shutout scenario.

Pettis did exhibit a plan B. When his takedown defense failed, he tried to hit multiple armbars off his back and an arm-triangle which RDA expertly fought off and saw coming miles away. In the stand-up, "Showtime" unleashed head kicks knowing he needed a finish to retain his belt. He also strung together combos with his hands, there was resistance behind his punches. The power failed him, for cardio or distance reasons. All credit to dos Anjos.

 

[SORIANOTRON]

^^ nice

I see your angle.

I mean armbars off your back AFTER you get taken down isnt really a plan B in my book, more like trying to survive and just looking for what's available.

Maybe if pettis was the one taking down RDA then applying some submissions maybe I would call that a plan B.

but yeah man, all credit to RDA, that was a classic performance.

Interested to see who pettis gets next.....now that his cloak of invincibility has been removed....theres a big target on his head, hes got some legit challenges ahead to get back to the top.

 

[thehealthinspector]

That's false, IMO. Aldo's aversion is to fighting Nova Uniao guys, like Barao. Not all Brasilians. Moot point anyway, Khabib is going to cruise to decision against Cerrone and forcibly take RDA's strap.

ill believe it when i see it

No sense in taking the title away from another Brazilian when you already have a title

 

[g money 87]

"Big Country" has a granite chin for the HW division. Only Hunt and "Pit Bull" have finished him. His beard earned my respect when prime "Cigano" couldn't finish Nelson.
Truth. I ride for JDS in the HW division, but his game has been eroded after two beatdowns by Cain and the recent war with Stipe, which he barely won. Dos Santos is vulnerable breaking from the clinch, he drops his hands and looks away. Miocic was picking him apart with that in the earlier rounds. JDS has a good takedown defense for the most part, but upper-echelon wrestlers can put "Cigano" on his back. Plus he hasn't shown an active guard recently despite being a BJJ black belt. Lastly, his cardio is a major concern in the championship rounds. Mouth open, breathing heavy. Instead of stringing together combinations with his boxing, JDS is trying to land the haymaker he shattered Cain with in 2011.
He tightened up Werdum's striking immensely as well.
That's false, IMO. Aldo's aversion is to fighting Nova Uniao guys, like Barao. Not all Brasilians. Moot point anyway, Khabib is going to cruise to decision against Cerrone and forcibly take RDA's strap.

Cigano's game might not be the same since the two cain destructions but i think his game beats Overeems at this point. His hands are still top knotch and Overeem has had trouble with "boxing heavy" fighters.  His chin fails to hold up against good strikers. Cigano's cardio is still better than reem's imo. But in order for Reem to close the distance to land knees he risks catching hands and that'll be his downfall imo.

Id take Cigano by ko over him anyday

 

[champcruthik]

Interested to see who pettis gets next.....now that his cloak of invincibility has been removed....theres a big target on his head, hes got some legit challenges ahead to get back to the top.

There's growing fear the lightweight titleholder is cursed. Since winning the 155 belt in August 2013, Pettis defended the strap successfully only once. Now RDA is dealing with a looming MCL procedure. Also for those questioning "Showtime's" heart or toughness, he suffered and concussion during the fight and received 7 stitches. Never did I see his determination waver. He was beaten by a better man Saturday night.

A lot of the top 155 guys are tied up. RDA has the belt. Khabib vs. Cerrone for #1 contender. Eddie and Gil in Mexico. Johnson called out "Bendo" post-fight. You could give Pettis a moderate contender coming off a loss, like Khabilov. Or throw him right in with Green, who was supposed to fight Masvidal next month before pulling out. I would love to see a kickboxing exhibition between "Showtime" and Barboza, both coming off losses. Or perhaps Jury, "Punk" Thomson. 155 is so damn deep.

No sense in taking the title away from another Brazilian when you already have a title

Fair enough, speculation on both our parts. My rationale is Aldo being closer to Barao. He's handcuffing Barao to 135 because the two refuse to fight each other. Barao's weight cut issues are well-documented. Aldo is big for 145, he's already cleaned out the featherweight division sans Conor, there's intrigue at 155 depending on the Khabib/"Cowboy" winner, and it allows Barao to move up regardless of the Montreal result.

His chin fails to hold up against good strikers.

Id take Cigano by ko over him anyday

Reem's chin has definitely eroded, which is why Wink and Jackson wanted him moving and cautious even late against Roy. Nelson accused Overeem of running, which I perceive merely as smart fighting. Just like Condit's plan against Diaz.

Deciding factor could be Reem's offensive wrestling versus JDS' takedown defense. We all know Overeem has lethal ground and pound from top position, if he can secure it on "Cigano."

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Khabib trolls so hard

"It's just funny," Nurmagomedov said between chuckles. "Cowboy is fake. I don't think so he's really cowboy, I think he's fake. He all the time drink, drunk. I don't think so he's really cowboy. I'm really cowboy. I'm mountain guy. I'm training camp all my life, I'm wrestling with the bears. I'm really cowboy. He's drunk guy. I am Dagestan cowboy, 100-percent.

"You know why he's a little bit nervous?" Nurmagomedov added. "Because I say truth. I say truth. I no say trash talk, I say truth, and he's a little bit nervous. He needs wrestling, he needs wrestling partners. But it's okay. After two months we have fight, we have crazy fight, and when cage close, he understand, ‘Wow, this guy's crazy. Why I take this fight? Why I take this fight?' Because I want to smash this guy. He say I won't smash this guy? [He say,] ‘I kick his ***.' Okay. 23rd, May. 23rd, May."