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techcrunchappcom · 5 years ago

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UFC Experts debate who's next for Dustin Poirier and Mike Perry's coach-less strategy - ESPN

It’s safe to say that a familiar face is back in UFC title contention.

In what could be a fight of the year candidate, Dustin Poirier won a brutal battle against Dan Hooker in the UFC Fight Night main event on Saturday in Las Vegas. Both fighters traded wicked shots from the opening bell, and Poirier took control of the fight in the later rounds.

The win was critical for Poirier, who was coming off a loss in September to world champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov is expected to face interim champ Justin Gaethje in a title-unification bout later this summer.

Mike Perry also had an impressive win, and apparently all he needed were his physical tools and moral support at the UFC Apex.

Perry looked sharp and in shape in defeating Mickey Gall by unanimous decision, and he won with only his girlfriend, Latory Gonzalez, in his corner.

ESPN’s expert panel of Ariel Helwani, Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim weigh in on the wins for Poirier and Perry and more.

What’s your biggest takeaway from the main event?

Dustin Poirier, right, proved that he’s still among the elite lightweights in the world by winning a hard-fought battle versus Dan Hooker on Saturday. Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Helwani: That fight was every bit as good as we thought it was going to be. That’s pretty much all that comes to mind. If you recall, earlier in the week, my bold prediction for this card was that the main event would go the distance. Well, early on, that prediction looked like it was going to be off because of the shots they were throwing and landing. However, I knew it would go 25 minutes because of how supremely tough both are. And 25 minutes it went. What a fight. What a show. What a display of toughness, heart and grit. These are the fights that make us love this sport so much. Hopefully Hooker doesn’t get too down after this one. He’ll be back. He can hang with the elite at 155. Also, the curse of Paul Felder, which is that everyone who beats him goes on to lose their next, is alive and well.

Okamoto: We need more consistent lightweight title fights. This can’t continue. Since Conor McGregor won the lightweight championship in November 2016, there have been four undisputed 155-pound title fights. Four. That’s not fair. This division is full of talented and deserving title challengers. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Justin Gaethje was as frustrated as anyone. It took Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson falling apart again for him to get an opportunity to fight for an interim belt and set himself up for a real title shot. I hate watching a fight such as Saturday’s, in which both guys leave a piece of themselves in there, and not knowing what’s next for the winner because this division never moves. The UFC has to do everything in its power to get this division running more consistently.

All fights from UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Hooker will be available to watch on ESPN+.

• Dustin Poirier vs. Dan Hooker • Mike Perry vs. Mickey Gall • Gian Villante vs. Maurice Greene • Brendan Allen vs. Kyle Daukaus • Jason Witt vs. Takashi Sato • Sean Woodson vs. Julian Erosa • Luis Pena vs. Khama Worthy • Philipe Lins vs. Tanner Boser • Jinh Yu Frey vs. Kay Hansen

• Jordan Griffin vs. Youssef Zalal

Watch the complete card on ESPN+

Raimondi: Dustin Poirier is still an elite lightweight. He’s still evolving. My favorite moment in the fight was when he had Hooker in a Khabib-esque leg ride in the fourth round. Not only is Poirier one of the best people in the sport — honored Friday with the UFC’s inaugural Forrest Griffin Community Award — but he’s also one of the toughest and most cerebral, a true ambassador for the game, and he isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Hooker is excellent. He did work in the first two rounds. But Poirier, hurt and tired, outlasted him as the fight went on. Let’s not forget that Poirier owns a win over current UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. Poirier is right there in the division, despite the loss to Nurmagomedov last year.

Wagenheim: If I’m a UFC matchmaker, I’m looking to book someone from American Top Team against a fighter from across the Pacific. That was proven once again to be a magical combination. Back in March, the promotion’s lone champion from China, strawweight Zhang Weili, was put through the fight of the year by ATT’s Joanna Jedrzejczyk. That bout got a run for its money from Poirier, who also trains in the South Florida gym, and Hooker. If Saturday’s main event had been for only a belt, it might have surpassed the glorious 115-pound tussle in my eyes. What a show of skill. What a show of will.

Who’s next for the winner of the main event?

Helwani: I need to see Dustin Poirier vs. Tony Ferguson next. It makes all the sense in the world. Poirier lost to Nurmagomedov recently, and Ferguson just lost to Gaethje. Plus, on paper, it would be phenomenal, with high stakes attached to it. Let’s go. As for what’s next for Hooker, that one is a little trickier. He’ll obviously need some time off. Maybe Kevin Lee, who is currently rehabbing an injured knee? Charles Oliveira would be fun, but he last fought (and won) in March, so the timing doesn’t work. A Drew Dober-type would be fun, but I’m not sure Hooker would take that. And you know what? I wouldn’t hate seeing Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker 2, considering that I thought Felder narrowly won their first meeting in February.

Damn!! Let me rest bruh!!! https://t.co/RgP5aOV0Co

— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) June 28, 2020

Okamoto: For Dustin Poirier, why not Conor McGregor? Why the heck not? When I spoke to Poirier this week, he said he has a habit of living and dying with every result in his fight career, and it has put a lot of pressure on him over the years. Having said that, he also believes that way of thinking affected him negatively before the McGregor fight in 2014, when he lost via first-round knockout. McGregor has apparently been frustrated with the UFC because he wants to fight. Well, here it is. Poirier is ranked above him. This is the one. McGregor wants to prove he’s still elite? Fight Poirier.

Raimondi: Poirier is still on the outside looking in as far as the upper echelon at lightweight goes. Nurmagomedov will defend the title against interim champ Gaethje next. McGregor is still out there lurking, with the UFC wanting him to fight Nurmagomedov as soon as it’s feasible. Perhaps McGregor would be interested in a Poirier rematch. That could be a lot of fun. If not, Poirier is probably stuck with another rising contender next, someone like Hooker. Charles Oliveira comes to mind as a possibility.

Wagenheim: If life were fair, Poirier would be in position to wait for the winner of Nurmagomedov’s title defense against Gaethje. Short of that, he would get the opportunity to avenge his 2014 loss to McGregor and make a huge bank deposit afterward. But all is not fair in love and war and money-fight promotion. Considering that Poirier lost to the champ less than 10 months ago, I’m thinking he will be passed over if Nurmagomedov retains his throne. If the challenger wins the belt, maybe the storyline of Gaethje trying to avenge a 2-year-old TKO loss to Poirier will carry the day, but an immediate Khabib rematch seems more likely. Poirier might be left to fight a guy ranked above him who’s coming off a loss (Tony Ferguson) or one ranked below him who’s on a seven-fight winning streak (Charles Oliveira).

What did you think of Mike Perry’s corner experiment?

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Mike Perry goes back to his corner and gets some words of encouragement from his girlfriend, Latory Gonzalez.

Helwani: Hard to hate on it because Perry won and looked good. I have heard from fighters who have said they don’t put a lot of emphasis on corners during fights, so I guess Perry backed that claim up tonight. But in all seriousness, I don’t think this is something that should be replicated, and it’s a little weird that a week after telling me they’d investigate the Robert Drysdale–Max Rohskopf situation, Nevada was OK with this. In any event, it worked out for Perry, and it generated attention, but I think he knows this isn’t sustainable. I suspect Perry will join another team before his next fight. Maybe it’s American Top Team, as his manager Malki Kawa suggested on Twitter, or maybe it’s elsewhere. Who knows with Mike Perry. He always keeps us guessing, and that’s why so many love him. But one thing is certain: Latory Gonzalez is undefeated as a corner woman. Put some respect on her name.

Okamoto: You know what? I am 100 percent good with it. I think it was a brilliant move, actually.

Now, I’ll add to that: I don’t think it’s the smartest thing moving forward. At the end of the day, is it a good idea for a UFC fighter to go into a high-caliber matchup with no one in his corner who can offer advice, recognize injury or provide expertise? Of course not. But I think most of us would agree that Perry looked … different … all week. Maybe he needed to do this one time — prove a point, do it for himself, whatever the case was — so that he could go out on his own and get a win this weekend.

If he moves forward with this peculiar strategy, again, I don’t think it’s a good idea, but the truth is Perry is probably never going to win a championship. He’s an entertainer. To borrow his words, “He knows how to fight.” If, from a mental standpoint, he feels most confident going in there with his girlfriend, that isn’t something I would ever advise someone to do, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world, either.

Thanks Perry, now my wife thinks she’s walking out with me next fight 😅

— Ricky Simón (@RickySimonUFC) June 28, 2020

Raimondi: It worked, mostly because Mike Perry is flat-out better than Mickey Gall. Perry’s strength and athleticism were just too much for Gall, and that had nothing to do with who was in Perry’s corner. The biggest takeaway for me was that Perry was in great shape, and he was polished. Yes, his girlfriend, Latory Gonzalez, was in his corner, but it was clear that Perry took his conditioning and training seriously.

Overall, though, one inexperienced person in a fighter’s corner is a bad precedent. It’s something the commission should take a look at if it happens again. It was funny tonight because Perry is such an over-the-top character. But it’s also a health and safety issue. A corner person is a state-licensed position. It should be taken seriously by the commission, with those licenses going to experienced people who are there to take care of their fighter. MMA isn’t a game; it’s a brutal, dangerous sport.

Wagenheim: Perry fought a more disciplined fight than I’d ever seen from him. Maybe coaching complicates things for the guy, gets him out of his instinctual rhythm. Then again, maybe what we saw was something of a mirage, a deceptive byproduct of an experienced veteran of high-level opposition being in the Octagon with an opponent who had fewer than half as many pro fights. Would Perry have been able to get by without coaches in his corner if he were competing against someone the caliber of Donald Cerrone or Paul Felder, to cite two names on his résumé? Who knows? Let’s chalk this up to Mike Perry being Mike Perry.

Which prospect made the biggest statement?

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Kay Hansen and Jinh Yu Frey trade massive blows to each other’s faces early in the third round of their bout at UFC Fight Night.

Helwani: I know Tanner Boser is now 18-6-1 following his vicious, first-round knockout of Philipe Lins on Saturday, but he’s only 28, and that was just his third UFC fight, so I’ll go with the native of Bonnyville, Alberta. In my eyes, he’s still a prospect. How much fun is Boser? The hair, the teeth, the Western Canadian accent … it’s a wonderful package. He’s now 2-1 inside the Octagon, with his lone loss to uber-prospect Ciryl Gane, so I think he’s a name to keep an eye on at heavyweight. Now, if we want to talk about who has the highest ceiling of the bunch, I’ll go with 20-year-old Kay Hansen. In case you missed it, Hansen, who is the youngest woman in the promotion and the second youngest overall (behind Chase Hooper) was signed just six days ago. She’s a big-time prospect and will be a player at 115 for years to come. It was a great win for her Saturday against former Invicta atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey. That armbar submission was a beaut.

Okamoto: I have to go with Kay Hansen, and it isn’t particularly close for me. Although I wouldn’t say her victory over Jinh Yu Frey was one of the most memorable of the card — there were plenty of other finishes on Saturday that stood out more — a 20-year-old, making her UFC debut, against an opponent with much more experience against better opposition? This result says a lot. Khama Worthy, Tanner Boser, Youssef Zalal, all of them had big wins on the undercard, but there’s something impressive about seeing a 20-year-old win in the Octagon. Not to mention, Hansen’s best skill (at least right now) — her wrestling — should continue to serve her well as she progresses through this division and grows into her body.

Raimondi: Kay Hansen. It wasn’t just that she beat former Invicta FC atomweight champion Jinh Yu Frey with a slick armbar in the third round of her UFC debut. It was that Hansen was able to battle adversity to do it. She clearly had a game plan of getting the smaller Frey down and imposing her will on the ground. Frey had none of that for most of the first two rounds, and she was making Hansen pay for her aggression, popping her with hard left hands. Hansen, to her credit, stuck to her strategy, finally got Frey down in the third and finished the bout that was tied heading into the final round. Hansen is just 20 years old, the second-youngest fighter in the UFC. There is immense potential there.

Wagenheim: It’s tough to go against Kay Hansen, who at 20 years old took out a far more experienced fighter who has been a champion in another fight organization. But I was most impressed by Khama Worthy, who scored his second straight eye-opening UFC win. Last summer he was a humongous underdog when he won his UFC debut. Was that just a matter of his having the night of his life? No, it was not. This time, he took on Luis Pena, who came in with six fights in the UFC, including wins over some seriously legitimate opponents. After a good start by Worthy, Pena put on a dominant display of wrestling in the second round. But Worthy persevered, and when the fight went back to the canvas in Round 3, he was ready. Worthy sunk in a modified guillotine choke to squeeze the air out of any lingering doubts.

Which fighter had the best finish?

With less than a week’s notice, @juicyj_erosa pushed the pace for three rounds and sunk in this D’arce choke to finish it off at #UFCVegas4 pic.twitter.com/kIdxwdzB9q

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 28, 2020

Helwani: There were so many good ones to choose from tonight, as this was a fun card with great finishes. In the end, I’ll go with Julian Erosa‘s D’Arce choke. First of all, the fact that he took this fight on four or so days’ notice and was a +400 underdog against the previously undefeated Sean Woodson is impressive in its own right. However, that D’Arce was as slick as can be and came at the end of a phenomenal fight. I love stories such as Erosa’s: Former “The Ultimate Fighter” alum, released in 2016 after going 1-1, gets a second chance on Contender Series two years later, wins that fight, gets signed again, goes 0-3 in the UFC, gets cut, wins a fight on the regional scene and then capitalizes on this opportunity after a visa issue precluded Canadian Kyle Nelson from competing Saturday. Way to persevere, Julian.

Okamoto: Julian Erosa. Four days’ notice against arguably the most promising prospect on the card in Sean Woodson. Was it the “highlight reel” KO we usually think about when it comes to best finish? No. Not at all, actually. But taking everything into consideration — fighting on four days’ notice, the biggest betting underdog on the card, losing the first round, the fact that he has been cut from the UFC before — it’s incredibly impressive. Erosa knew after that first round against Woodson that he had to bite down, eat shots and make the fight ugly, and that is way easier said than done. Not only did he have the intelligence to acknowledge that, but he also had the courage and heart to do it. It’s difficult to not feel happy for him.

Raimondi: I won’t soon forget Tanner Boser, sporting an absolutely glorious mullet, starching former PFL heavyweight champion Philipe Lins with a punching combination for a knockout win. Boser, from Alberta, Canada, is unassuming. Maybe he caught Lins by surprise. Boser let loose with a fast combination and clanged multiple punches off Lins’ head. Lins was out when he hit the ground, spurring referee Herb Dean to dive in and hit a near-judo throw to get Boser off an unconscious Lins. It was a memorable knockout for a fight — and a fighter — many people didn’t have circled coming into this event.

Wagenheim: The second- or third-best finish on this night would have been in the running for top honors on many fight nights. At one point, there were five straight finishes, each a thing of beauty. But I have to go with Julian Erosa’s third-round D’Arce choke, which handed prospect Sean Woodson his first career defeat. Erosa, who twice has been cut by the UFC, came in on four days’ notice and was the biggest underdog on the card. He looked the part in the first round, absorbing a steady diet of straight left hands. But he ate them all and kept coming for more, and when he finally got Woodson on the canvas, he did not waste the opportunity, efficiently and stunningly eliciting a tapout.

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mmarelated · 7 years ago

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UFC 216: Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee

#tony ferguson #el cucuy #kevin lee #lightweight #championship #mma related #fighting #mixed martial arts #mma #ufc #demetrious johnson #ray borg #lando vannata #bobby green #fabricio werdum #derrick lewis

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theanticool · 7 years ago

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Tony Ferguson vs Edson Barboza

Going on a 9 fight win streak at lightweight means you’re probably one of the very best fighters on the planet. Tony Ferguson (22-3) is currently riding that streak. Sadly, as the lightweight champion decided peaced out for the year to go prove he too could lose to one of the greatest boxers ever, Ferguson hasn’t gotten his lightweight title.

Tony will instead fight for the interim lightweight championship in the main event of UFC 216 where he faces off with Kevin Lee (16-2).

#Tony Ferguson #Edson Barboza #UFC #MMA #MMA Fight

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mmasquad · 7 years ago

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It’s fight week! This Saturday October 7, UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee goes down in Las Vegas, Nevada, so that means it’s time for the MMASquad to get their predictions in! The main card is below:

Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee

Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg

Fabricio Werdum vs. Derrick Lewis

Evan Dunham vs. Beneil Dariush

As always, take the names/photos of the fighters you think will win and use them for your predictions in a post. Remember to use the tag “mmasquad2k17”

#mmasquad2k17 #ufc 216 #las vegas

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thesportssoundoff · 6 years ago

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“Future Glory For Former Champions?” Two Guys Opine

Slight opening first: This was done in late November and @theanticool had his done first. With so many shows and news, I Wanted to wait to post it because so much has gone down and I didn’t want it getting buried. It was completed a few days before Anderson Silva vs Israel Adesanya was confirmed as not just being a fight but being a #1 contender fight. Just a heads up on that.

Two Dudes Opine!

As most of you know by listening to any sort of DojoTalkPodcast cameo I’ve done, @theanticool and I don’t agree on much of anything. That said, it’s an absolute joy to bounce ideas around, especially in the idea vacuum that is MMA, and have some good old fashioned debate on things. Conversation creates smarter people in my estimation and I obviously need all the help I can get!

I wanted to take this concept and sort of test how often we truly agree and disagree. As such, I figured he and I might want to dabble a bit to see just HOW often we agree or disagree. Once he agreed after many meetings and contractual negotiations, we agreed on a concept: I’m going to come up with a topic and present him with a list of names inside that topic. Independently we’ll each go through the names provided and see just how we match up at the end of this grabbag assignment. Our first project focused on prospects coming off a loss and I think it’s worth pointing out that Yair, Arjan Bhullar and Cynthia Calvillo were all featured in the discussion and all have gone on to win. This month we have:

In the UFC, it's very hard to regain titles after you lose them. In the modern era, only TJ Dillashaw has flat out won back a title he lost (Daniel Cormier was given it back due to Jon Jones' drug test failure while Jose Aldo won an interim title before getting elevated up to championship status). Fighters such as Aldo, Rashad Evans, Junior Dos Santos and countless others have all come up short in quests to either regain gold or find new gold in other weight classes. With that as the set up, which of the following fighters can either regain their title in their current weight class or find championship success either up or down a weight class:

Conor McGregor

Cody Garbrandt

Robbie Lawler

Holly Holm

Chris Weidman

Anderson Silva

I’m in the bold and @theanticool is in italics!

Conor McGregor- I mean if you want to manipulate it just right, Conor McGregor can absolutely find his way back to the title scene! Conor's a weird one for me---and I'm beginning to wonder if the Conor McGregor we saw at 145 lbs was more about right time, right place and perhaps even right matchmaking than anything else. Conor's wins at 145 lbs are amazing from Chad Mendes to Jose Aldo to Dustin Poirier to even a quality mid level gatekeeper type like Dennis Siver. Even Max Holloway was a case of maybe two guys facing off before they're ready to do so. Since going up in weight, Conor's 2-2. The Eddie Alvarez fight was an absolute demolition job and one of the best wins of his career given the opponent BUT I'm a bit less high up on Alvarez after seeing him struggle with Poirier twice. The Diaz fights revealed problems with Conor's pacing but also his ability to deal with the same stylistic challenges he gives others. Lengthy opponents who won't allow him to just walk them down, put them against the cage and tee off. That and to be honest? I'm really not that high up on Nate Diaz either. The Khabib performance was really good given the circumstances (long layoff from MMA, stylistic nightmare, hurt early in the fight) but THIS is what lurks at the top at 155 lbs. Khabib, Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, a rejuvenated (yet still flawed) Dustin Poirier, Al Iaquinta plus other really great fighters who don't get their due because of the weight class depth. This is not to say that Conor McGregor loses to all of those guys or even that he's not a great fighter---he's just a great fighter as opposed to the meteoric supernova who ran through 145 lbs with such ease. Guys like Justin Gaethje are conditioned to wins wars of attrition, something Conor struggled with vs Nate. Guys like Kevin Lee and Al Iaquinta present enough of a well rounded overall game to where you could sort of see them finding ways to get Conor in enough bad spots to steal a decision. Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier and Khabib are elite and while Poirier's rise to the top hasn't changed the fighter he is, I think his chances in a rematch are waaaay better now that he's not completely sunken in. This doesn't even account for Ortega or Holloway coming up eventually as well.

But this isn't about Conor entirely; it's about his chances to get back in the title picture. Conor is basically a long frustrating Khabib suspension away from being in a title fight, even if it's just an interim at 155 lbs. If the UFC opens up 165 lbs, they are absolutely going to hand him a shot to fight for the belt because that's business. Shit, Conor is one win away from facing Colby Covington (Oh lord have mercy) or even opening up the doors for something with Tyron Woodley. Conor McGregor is a star and stars can get away with doing things like that. It also helps that he's a great enough fighter that the public can absolutely buy him potentially beating a guy like Tony Ferguson or Colby Covington or Woodley or whomever pops up at 165 lbs. What Conor does well at, he's one of the best at and that will always give him a shot. Again the people he's ACTUALLY beaten are among some of the best in the sports history----so who am I to say he can't get back into the title picture?

Conor McGregor

I can see Conor politicking himself back into title contention. Let’s be real, he’s never going to be far from a title shot. With Khabib Nurmagomedov’s future kind of up in the air with the pending investigation of the NSAC and his father stating that he doesn’t want his son fighting past 30, the lightweight title could be up for grabs soon. Not to mention Khabib and Tony Ferguson are injury prone individuals. If one or both of them get hurt, McGregor is right back in the title picture. And should Ferguson and Khabib fall out of the picture, I’d like McGregor’s chances against the likes of Dustin Poirier, Kevin Lee (maybe less so him but still), Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, and Nate Diaz. Heck, if the UFC ever decides to make that 165lb division you know McGregor going for his 3rd belt would be too much for the UFC to pass up. If McGregor continues fighting, he will eventually get another shot because of his popularity. By that virtue alone, he’s got a better shot than most former champions of getting a UFC title.

Cody Garbrandt- I still like Cody but there be some issues here. For starters, backs, necks and knees don't get better. That's especially true for fighters who rely on their reflexes and quick twitch ability to enter into exchanges and for their defense. Garbrandt having back problems at the scant age of 27 is rather worrisome. That's more worrisome than the fact that he now has two losses to the champ TJ Dillashaw. Bantamweight is a bit like heavyweight and so like JDS vs Cain, Cody could realistically always just be a title change away from being back in the picture. I'm sure when I read Anticool's retort, he's not going to agree here but I DO think Cody can beat TJ. They've fought twice and he's hurt TJ and both fights. The difference is that Dillashaw is a way better finisher (If TJ knocks Cruz down the way Cody does then the fight's over) and Dillashaw instinct wise just seems better. He seems more capable of surviving bad exchanges, smarter with adjustments and more willing to not be prideful (Garbrant absolutely stands with Lineker and nobody can convince me otherwise). For Cody to get back to the top, he needs to beat somebody in the top 5 but outside of Jimmie Rivera, I don't see a lot of willing matchups. I'm on the fence here.

Cody Garbrandt

MMA is not like boxing. Getting knocked out back to back doesn’t spell immediate doom and gloom for your career. It’s still not a good look though. I really hated the immediate rematch between Garbrandt and Dillashaw because I saw it as potentially burning out a young prospect’s career in a chase for quick money. And I honestly don’t know how Garbrandt will turn out till we see him fight someone in the top 10 at bantamweight who isn’t TJ Dillashaw or Dominick Cruz. This division is currently brimming with young talented fighters who are improving dramatically between fights, while Garbrandt seemingly hasn’t. We need to see him build on his current boxing game. Maybe use more of his wrestling. Add some tools to his kickboxing arsenal that aren’t reliant on the fact that he has a lot of power in his hands. I will reserve judgement on him till we see him fight again. We just don’t know where he’s at after coming up short twice to someone he hates. That has to be mentally exhausting.

Robbie Lawler- Oh what Robbie Lawler has brought to us. Nobody should forget 2013 to 2015 when Lawler fought Johnny Hendricks twice, Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald twice and Matt Brown off the top of my head. Since then? I think Robbie might be broken, dudes. Lawler is 2-2 but should really be 1-3 (fight me about it, guys) and all of those fights seemed less about the skill he had and more about the heart he still possesses. You don't have the fight of year in back to back to back years without losing a piece of you in the process and it's perhaps made all the more remarkable when you consider Robbie fought four times in 2014 and has seen the number decline from 4 to 1 in 2015 to 2 in 2016 to 2 in 2017 to nada in 2018. The matter was made worse by an ACL injury sustained in a fight vs RDA where he was pretty much wiped out even if he didn't ever seem to be in danger of being finished. I like Robbie a lot and I think a serious convo will be had about him as a hall of fame talent AND I remember when the UFC made him one of the first big signings BACK from Strikeforce when everybody had mailed it in on Lawler. A return to WW made him great again but now? I think the time has come and gone. Robbie's 36 years old coming off knee surgery in a division that's ripe to get younger real quick. Of course I can't ignore the shades of Koscheck vs Lawler with this Askren booking but Ben's a lot better than Josh was at that point in his career. I think the Lawler days are done.

Robbie Lawler

Hindsight is 20/20. It looks like Lawler’s fight with Condit was his last real hurrah. The Lawler that went toe-to-toe with Johny Hendricks twice and had one of the greatest fights of all time with Rory MacDonald is gone. And fair enough. That MacDonald fight honestly would have been the end of most other guys’ careers. If his fight with Rafael Dos Anjos is any indication, I do think Lawler has something left in the tank if his body can stay together for 15-25 minutes. He’s still got a lot of technical savvy and he’s still tough as hell, but I can see his upcoming fight with Ben Askren going south if the man can’t generate the volume we’ve seen from him in the past. I don’t foresee another title reign in Lawler’s future, as sad as that makes me. But he’s proved us wrong before.

Holly Holm- Chances are Holly Holm will absolutely fight for a title and pretty soon. Can she win it? Yeah, I actually kinda sorta think she can. Holm's title losses can be summed as getting taken out of her game by a very gutsy Meisha Tate, some sketchy borderline late work from Germaine De Randamie and getting outphysical'd by Cris Cyborg. Holly Holm is still a good yet flawed fighter who will probably be able to out athlete most of the fighters she faces AND if we're being 100% fair? She and Mike Winkeljohn feel like one of those pairings that just click. That on its own could be enough to get her not just back in the title picture but win her title especialyl if Nunes is broken vs Cyborg. I still think there’s SOME paper lion in Amanda Nunes’ game and I could see Holm giving her all she can handle.

Holly Holm

Of the 6 fighters considered for this article, Holly Holm is my pick for best chance to regain her former title. At least by doing it the “right” way. Of the 6, I think she’s in the best place mentally and physically. She has not shown she’s falling apart yet like Lawler and Weidman. She hasn’t shown she has slowed down yet like Silva. We haven’t seen her succumb to her own hubris yet like Garbrandt has twice. And women’s bantamweight isn’t the shark tank division that lightweight is. She can and most likely will get another shot at the women’s bantamweight title. Plus Holm presents a whole slew of challenges for Amanda Nunes that we have yet to see Nunes face. She’s a range kicker who can fight hard for 5 rounds, set a solid pace, and will have a good sized reach advantage on the outside. And unlike Shevchenko, Holm will throw volume. That of course means she’s going to leave herself more open to counters from arguably the hardest hitting woman in the sport but Nunes is fighting on a short timer. If Holm can survive the first round, you know she’s going to be the fresher of the two from rounds 2-5.

Chris Weidman- This is the one I'm most on the fence about. If Chris Weidman cuts less weight, goes up to 205 lbs and manages to stay relatively break free? I don't see why he couldn't do something really good at the top of the division. We're seeing worse fighters step in against top 10/top 15 LHWs and have zero issue being not just competitive but thrust into title contention. I know their respective styles are different but Weidman can absolutely pull an Anthony Smith; feast on being the more athletic guy with more tools in his arsenal vs bigger guys who may not even be all THAT bigger. I'm just beginning to wonder if Chris Weidman might be for a lack of a better term broken. Perhaps broken beyond repair. Weidman's kind of in that Gray Maynard stage for me now and I think that's worse than it sounds to some people. Gray Maynard after the Edgar fights was still competitive AND improving in some capacities---but his chin was cooked, his wrestling suddenly seemed either outdated or ill equipped to deal with the rising talent levels and even when he was doing good, you just felt a sense of inevitability. I never once felt like Jacare was in danger of losing vs Weidman but I spend every second of that fight believing we were just one something away from it falling apart for Chris Weidman. It's one of those weird feelings to see a fighter doing really well and just feel almost resigned to an inevitable bad thing happening. Chris Weidman fights in a much easier division at 185 lbs than Gray Maynard and could move up to an even EASIER division at 205 lbs. The problem is I just wonder how many times we can see Weidman with a bloodied up face saying "I'll be back from this" before we just have to accept that Chris Weidman hit the point of no return on his career? It's entirely possible that his win over Gastelum (another fight where he got hurt really badly) was a brief last gasp for his career as a whole. Weidman's ability to will himself through wars of attrition hasn't diminished but his body's ability to hold up in those fights has.

Chris Weidman is the ultimate boom or bust guy; the boom says that he could possibly be the champ at 205 lbs if Jon Jones vacates the premises while the bust is that Weidman takes unneeded additional damage against bigger guys who hit him really hard. I'd like to see Chris Weidman TRY at 205 lbs, maybe against a relatively easy touch. It's often times been said that the UFC doesn't just start giving guys easier opponents when they're earning bank so Weidman has a really good shot to walk into 205 lbs and be greeted by an OSP or a Shogun or someone who has name value and is probably good enough to test him. If it doesn't work then we can call it a day but if it does, I think Weidman has a sizable chance to find a way to the title.

Chris Weidman

Weidman will never be champion again at 185lbs. You can’t get stopped in 4 of your last 5 fights and expect my confidence in your chances at the belt. I am not sold on the idea though that Chris Weidman is a chinny fighter so there’s no way he could cut it at 205. Most of his stoppage losses have seemed to have come from exhaustion as much as they’ve come from eating a big shot. Weidman needs to control the pace to win fights. He can’t rely on his wrestling because it’s too draining on his stamina, except against Gastelum who basically did nothing to stop the grappling game of Weidman. It’s why we’ve seen him change from a come forward pressure fighter to an out fighter. I think his team thought it would be easier on Weidman to control his output and range if he didn’t constantly have to move forward. Problem is that being an out fighter requires a lot of movement, pivoting, and things that also require a lot of energy and precision. Weidman can’t afford to let the flow of fights get away from his because it drains his gas tank too quickly. It’s how Jacare eventually wore him down. That’s why we see him win the first round of fights where he ultimately gets stopped. When other fighters do not concede, Weidman fades. I think a move to 205 could help with a lot of these issues. No more weight cut, no more energy dump after 6-7 minutes of fighting. I am afraid though that all the injuries and the big cuts to make 185lbs are cutting short his career. The first 5 minutes of his fight with Jacare, however, was some of the best we’ve seen Weidman look technically. There could be hope for him yet at 205. I don’t know if he has what it takes to beat an Alexander Gustafsson or Jon Jones. When you consider those guys are just as likely to get either hurt (Gus) or suspended on some dumb (Jones) though, the division could be wide open for Weidman to come through and make a title run.

Anderson Silva- Silva will not will a title. Will he fight for one? He shouldn't but he will, right? Remember Anderson Silva could have an argument to having beat Michael Bisping and he owns a win over Derek Brunson who is a top 10 gatekeeper. Silva could even go as far back as to point out that there was SOME talk that if he beat Nick Diaz, he would've gotten a title fight. My best guess is that when Silva's back, he is just one fight away. After all who isn't in MMA these days?

Anderson Silva

No. In terms of fighters that are past it, I actually think Silva is on the upper end of guys who are still functioning. If Tito Ortiz would be a sizeable favorite over 95% of fighters on the regional scene, Anderson Silva is a favorite over most middleweights not in the top 20 and probably a lot of mid-tier 205ers. His super close fights with Derek Brunson and future champion Michael Bisping attest to his ability to stick around the upper end of the division. Problem for him is the high end of middleweight has become a shark tank of athletes with well rounded technical games. He would no longer be fighting the Chael Sonnens and Yushin Okamis of the world. And honestly I don’t need to see Yoel Romero flying knee Silva’s head through the fence. I’m good. I’m content with his upcoming fight with Israel Adesanya. Of all the fights he could have gotten against the top of the division, with the exception of maybe Kelvin Gastelum, Israel Adesanya is probably the most kind. I do expect Silva to picked apart here. I don’t expect to see Silva bum rush his way into something crazy like Derek Brunson did and I don’t expect Adesanya to push a crazy pace in search of the stoppage. Maybe we’ll get some fun spinning stuff but I think the fight ends up looking similar to the Adesanya-Tavares fight - Silva being unable to pull the trigger while Adesanya casually styles on him.

#MMa #UFC #Opining #sports #Anderson Silva #Chris Weidman #Garbrandt #Fights

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ufcmmapictures · 7 years ago

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Keys to Victory! Who will win Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee UFC 216 main event fight tonight FREE $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD

#mma #ufc #ufc pictures #mma pictures

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mma-onslaught-blog · 7 years ago

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Kevin Lee looks very Impressive vs Michael Chiesa Tony Ferguson Has To B...

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michaelzand · 7 years ago

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UFC 216: Ferguson vs Lee - Extended Preview

UFC 216: Ferguson vs Lee – Extended Preview

Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee collide for the interim lightweight championship in the main event of UFC 216 in Las Vegas. Plus, flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson goes for his record 11th title defense vs. Ray Borg. Watch the extended preview.

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wearemmauk-blog · 6 years ago

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The boogeyman's hit list: Tony Ferguson and his incredible win streak

The boogeyman's hit list: Tony Ferguson and his incredible win streak - http://mmauk.net/2019/06/14/the-boogeymans-hit-list-tony-ferguson-and-his-incredible-win-streak/

The boogeyman's hit list: Tony Ferguson and his incredible win streak

Tony Ferguson goes by the nickname “El Cucuy”, the name given to a Mexican myth about a being similar to the boogeyman. Ferguson’s run in the UFC supports his nickname perfectly, despite one setback, Tony has been on a one man mission to take out everybody at 155 pounds and he’s done it in terrifying fashion, putting together perhaps the most impressive win streak in the UFC.

Ferguson made his way into the UFC off the back of The Ultimate Fighter season 13 where he was “coached” by Brock Lesnar. He finished all of his opponents in the tournament including Ramsey Nijem in the final, who he knocked out in the first round, earning himself a knockout of the night bonus. He went on to stop Aaron Riley in his next fight via doctor stoppage after only one round and began building a lot of momentum after earning a unanimous decision over UFC veteran and MMA legend Yves Edwards.

Tony’s only setback in his UFC career came after that when he lost to Michael Johnson on May 5th, 2012. He lost via a unanimous decision and has not tasted defeat since. Benson Henderson was the lightweight champion at the time and to show just how fast the sport has moved, women did not fight in the UFC at that time. Since then Ferguson has put together 12 back-to-back wins and earned himself 8 bonuses for performance of the night, fight of the night and one for submission of the night.

His winning streak includes some of the biggest names and most dangerous fighters at 155 pounds. If it wasn’t for injuries, delays regarding the title changing hands and the cursed fight with him and Khabib Nurmagomedov being cancelled more times than any other fight, Ferguson would’ve had his shot at the title a long time ago however he is still waiting for a shot at the Lightweight title. He did beat Kevin Lee at UFC 216 in 2017 to earn the interim UFC title but this was stripped from him once he was seriously injured, allowing Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight for the vacant UFC title and then defend it against Conor McGregor.

What makes this run so impressive is not only the names “El Cucuy” has been checking off but the way he has done it, putting on incredible fights and taking his opponents apart minute by minute. His win streak is easily compared to Nurmagomedov’s as they share a few common opponents and both do the same to their rivals, as the fight goes on they break them.

To highlight a few of Tony’s best performances, the best place to start is in 2015 when he beat Josh Thompson at UFC Fight Night: Mir vs Duffee and went on to beat Edson Barboza in December of the same year. Both fights were fairly competitive striking matches with Thompson and Barboza landing some big shots on Ferguson. Both played out very similarly though with Ferguson wearing down his opponent as the minutes went by, taking there best strikes and putting pressure on them like no one else does. He cut both men up with some of the most vicious elbow strikes seen in the UFC, earning him a decision against Thompson who he was beating up badly towards the end of the fight before going on to submit Barboza in his next outing. He bloodied Barboza up badly as he has done to all of his recent opponents before submitting him via D’Arce choke, something Ferguson has become known for.

He did a similar thing to his next opponent, Lando Vanatta who stepped in for his UFC debut on late notice. Despite it being Vanatta’s first performance in the UFC, he brought the fight to Tony, dropping him and hurting him badly in the first round. Once again though, Tony took Vanatta’s best shots, kept coming and eventually broke him down, also catching him in his lethal D’Arce choke.

He followed this with a 5-round display of some of the most creative and accurate striking seen in the octagon against former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos. It is his two most recent performances however that are perhaps the most threatening. Despite a potentially career defining leg injury and personal issues outside of the cage, Ferguson has stopped both former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in his last two fights, with both fights being waved off after a devastating display in the second round from Tony.

Both fights also began fairly competitive until Tony began cranking up the pressure and overwhelming Pettis and Cerrone with devastatingly accurate strikes. Pettis was cut open badly in the second round and the fight was called off once Pettis’ head coach Duke Roufus realised Pettis had broken his hand. Cerrone was beaten up like never before in his career, forcing the doctor to stop the fight as he could not see out of his one eye. Both the performances came off the back of fans doubting what shape physically and mentally Ferguson would be in and yet he picked up right where he left off and in arguably even more efficient fashion.

With Khabib Nurmagomdov set to defend his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, the winner will surely face Ferguson. What else can the man do to get himself a shot at the world title?

All we know for certain is that the boogeyman shows no signs of stopping and he’s still got some names to check off his list.

Is Ferguson’s run the best win streak in UFC history? If not, which one is better? Let us know and get involved on all the MMA UK social media platforms. Bye bye for now.

#Donald Cerrone #Khabib Numagomedov #Tony Ferguson #UFC #UFC 238

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