#kamaru usman

[theanticool]

Lately ive been seeing multiple top ten lists that squeeze in kamaru usman at number 9 or 10. Do you think this is a fair assessment or recency bias? I feel like having 2 of his title defenses against bum ass Masvidal kinda works against his legacy. Obviously usman is a much more complete well rounded fighter than izzy hut i think theres an argument to be made Izzy had a better level of competition. I wonder if one of Usmans victims (strickland) becoming mw champ is whats propelling him to top ten status since what seemed like a random win at the time is now aging extremely well

Yeah, sadly half of Usman’s titles wins (Colby 2, Masvidal 2, and Woodley) aged really poorly. TBF the Masvidal and Colby rematches were crap from the jump. Woodley went on to lose every round of MMA he fought after Usman and threw like 10 punches combined. I do think the first Masvidal and Colby wins (+Burns) are worth a lot but if we’re holding those up as Usman’s big career wins? How do they match up against the best wins of Fedor, Silva, GSP, Aldo, Holloway, Volk, DJ, Jones, DC, Lawler, Khabib, Alvarez, Poirier, TJ, Cruz, McGregor, Islam, Do Bronx, BJ, Edgar, Stipe, Whittaker, or Izzy (I’m leaving a lot of names out). I just don’t think the wins are there to be honest. I also don’t give Usman too much credit for his win over Strickland because this is the same guy who was losing to Zaleski dos Santos and Ponz at 170lbs. Good fighters but not on anyone’s top 30 greatest fighters in WW history. Sean’s best win at 170 is arguably Nordine Taleb.

The story of Usman’s title reign was one of rebirth and gridlock at welterweight imo. Lawler, Woodley, Condit, and Wonderboy were aging out. Hendricks ate his way out 170. Then you had guys like Usman and Colby coming up on the old guard (Maia, Woodley, RDA) while Masvidal just so happened to get hot at the right moment off beating a guy who had heat but wasn’t as good as we thought (Till) and a loudmouth meme generator with a nonfunctional hip (Askren).

But guys like Leon, Belal, and - to a lesser extent - Rakhmonov, Chimaev, etc were kind of left on the outside looking in. Once Colby and Masvidal established themselves as contenders and stars(?), they did not interact with anyone else again. For as good as they had been on the rise, I’d argue neither Colby or Masvidal ever solidified themselves in real Max Holloway/Robert Whittaker “I’m going to be at worst the #3 fighter in this division for a long time” way. And it’s still a thing we are dealing with years later. It took Leon and Belal like 10 fights with no losses to get a title fight. And Belal only just got his this year! That’s insane. He came up at the same time as Colby and Usman! With no immediate stars at 170, we’re probably back to guys getting to mix it up across the rankings so I’m happy the division is finally out of gridlock. The logjam seems to have passed.

Another knock against Usman is he hasn’t really had anything to show in his post-prime. When Aldo, Holloway, and Whittaker, for example, lost their titles? They proceeded to come back and just start picking off contenders. Taking big fight after big fight. To his credit, I thought Usman looked good in his fight with Chimaev for the circumstances he found himself in. I think he might still have some gas in the tank. A couple big name wins would really boost his resume.

But ultimately? ATG list are subjective. I don’t think the welterweight division has gotten significantly better since the days of GSP like some of these other divisions have, but that’s my opinion. I do think you’re correct about recency bias though. A lot of modern MMA fans don’t actually know anything about the sport pre-2019 though

[momentosfavmma]

A luta que surpreendeu todo mundo

[mmarelated]

UFC 294

[deputy-buck]

286

[theobicobi]

New archive is live, check it out here! <3

 https://archive.org/details/01-ea-ufc-sports-4-season-2-pt-1

[defensefilms]

Adesanya’s Legacy After UFC 287, Dricus Du Plessis Waits In The Wings

In what felt like the least likeliest of the results, Adesanya defeated Alex Pereira via 2nd knockout.

A change in strategy proved to be the wisest thing Adesanya could have resorted to. By opting to close the distance, get close to Pereira and use pressure fighting tactics. 

Not a single take down attempt either and the result, Pereira came out bombing in the 2nd round and then got himelff caught by some well-timed counter rights by Izzy 

Pereira started at a very slow pace and did well to establish the threat of the leg kicks, but the inexperience in MMA came to bear fruit in the 2nd round. Pereira would land 16 of the 21 leg kick that he attempted in the first round, and he tried to change approach in the 2nd and start pressuring, but he also went straight in to Adesanya’s trap. 

That victory not only bring the UFC middleweight ttile home but cements Israel Adesany as the best UFC middleweight of all time.

Do not let the historians or the haters down play how monumental that victory was as far as the history of one of UFC’s premier weight divisions, which has always played home to the best fighter in the world.

What awaits Adesanya in the future, may be slightly more controversial, and I don’t know if I like it.

South African middleweight, Dricus Du Plesis is 5-0 in the UFC and recently has made some noise regarding

I have met Dricus Du Plesis, in person. Another MMA coach that I’ve spent a lot of time around is a guy name Braam Van Dyk, and he’s been around Dricus Du Plesis a whole lot during thier amateur days.

He has a lot of black fighters around him in his gym, and he’s the furthest thing from a racist but what worries me, is that he’s leaning in to the controversy with his recent comments which got a response from Kamaru Usman, and by claiming that by winning the middleweight title, he’d be “the only African to win a belt and bring it back to the continent.

It’s a comment that gets people talking, but also provokes the converstion around African being a race, a culture, or a location, and namely which one of those makes you a real African.

As much as Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya are not Afrcan born, they’ve had to live everyday as African males, with all the things that that comes with.

While this conversation probably needs more nuance than what a sports media conversation can allow for, Dricus looks like he’s in line for a chance at the middleweight title, and a marquee showdown against Israel Adesanya.

And that could turn out to be good news for your boy Defense.

[gameofthunder66]

-watched 7/27/2023- on Disney+

Excellent Acting! Great Costumes!

FILMS WATCHED IN 2023 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) Dir. Ryan Coogler ★★★☆☆

[artbydanilodealmeida]

UFC 294

[conandaily2022]

Kamaru Usman, Khamzat Chimaev to co-headline 'UFC 294' in Abu Dhabi, UAE

[dannycardfan824]

PANINI 2022 UFC PRIZM

KAMARU USMAN #CS-KUS CHAMPION SIGNATURES RED PRIZM 40/99 CSG GRADED 9

[googlfeed]

"UFC 287: Israel Adesanya Knocks Out Kelvin Gastelum in Rematch and Claims Massive Bonus!"

“UFC 287 was a night to remember as Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum went head-to-head in a highly anticipated rematch. Adesanya’s stunning knockout earned him a massive bonus, but he wasn’t the only fighter to shine. Read on for all the highlights and behind-the-scenes action from one of the most unforgettable UFC events of the year!” UFC 287 Bonuses: Israel Adesanya Cashes in with Massive…

[theanticool]

This is probably going to be a rough night for Usman.

[momentosfavmma]

"put some respect on my name"

[mmarelated]

UFC 286

[deputy-buck]

🇯🇲 286 🇳🇬

[themmaniacs]

Belal Muhammad Wants to Fight Kamaru Usman as it Will Be his Ticket to a Title shot

#UFC #MMA #BelalMuhammad #Welterweight

Belal Muhammad says he has one final test before receiving a title shot. The UFC Welterweight division is stacked with good fighters and all of them want a piece of action at the highest level. It is a highly competitive weight class. Every fighter is looking for an opportunity to prove themselves and earn a shot at the title. Recently, Leon Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman for the second time at…