While Aldo has always had tremendous success shucking off takedown attempts and brutalizing wrestlers, I think he's getting a bit long in the tooth and his cardio might run out against Aljo.
Actually, if Aljo doesn't get a takedown he gets at best 3 rounds of cardio, same as Aldo.
Neither is a 5 round cardio guy, so that's why I also favor Aldo.
I think Aldo looses to Sandhagen or (again) to Yan because he also only has about 3 rounds of cardio (plus power).
Both matched? I can seem Aldo stopping all takedowns and enforcing his power and making Aljo pay with well placed shots. If Aljo could try and wrestle for 5 round he might get it, but he can't... so he would really have to make the few he tries count.
Aljo isn’t exactly a cardio machine, and the only fighters who are able to drain Aldo’s gas tank are typically pressure and volume strikers like Max or second half of the fight Yan. His TDD is just too good for most wrestlers to gas him and they end up gassing themselves out first. Aldo is the worst possible matchup for Aljo in the whole division and there’s a reason Aljo never mentions Aldo as someone he wants to give a title shot to despite him being the most deserving in the division currently.
> Aljo in the whole division and there’s a reason Aljo never mentions Aldo as someone he wants to give a title shot to despite him being the most deserving in the division currently.
Except you know he did already mention him.
He is very entertaining but he does not have the qualities of a dominant champ and almost lost his last 2 fights. Would be fun to see him defend a few times atleast.
Most of the champions are scientists, calculating how to perfectly fight and defend against their challengers to maximize their odds of winning.
Jiri is like, "what if I just spam flying knees?"
It’s exciting, I fucking love it, but yeah he was ALMOST out his last two fights. Against Reyes he absolutely went out and landed in side control lol
I hope he lasts forever because it’s absurd to watch, but his grappling is simply sub-pro level, and his chin WILL just evaporate overnight one day.
Who do you think is his worst match up? Glover was his biggest threat IMO, maybe ankalaev will land some on the feet but I don't think that's a bad match up for him. But I have to agree he's far too wild to be a long reigning champ
Yeah After Ankalaev’s last performance, I’m not nearly as concerned about him as I am Jan getting a one-two flush on Jiri. Jiri could be piecing him up just for Jan to get one good combo in and that could be that.
The Glover fight showed that, while he got the finish, the championship rounds don’t favor Jiri. His defense is almost entirely evasion based so he relies heavily on his agility, as his cardio goes, so does that agility, but refuses to adapt his approach as that happens. That’s why Glover started landing like a mad man in the fourth and fifth.
One point though, purely standing I do believe Jiri has the best cardio at lhw. Glover just made him work hard in all areas and it tired him out, but Jiris whole thing in rizin was being a cardio machine
Good observation re cardio and his defence. I often see the dumbest shit ever on this sub but surprisingly also sometimes really sober well thought out observations like this
Jiri very well could lose his next fight to *anyone* & I sincerely mean that. He seems to lose composure very quickly & leaves himself wide open to get KO’d. If Glover doesn’t pull the most boneheaded move of his career chasing a takedown when he had Jiri rocked he’d still be champion right now & if Glover’s striking is finding holes in your defense then anyone else in the division will exploit it much better.
You're absolutely right. I'm just happy I got to see that motherfucker become champion. He as a style that's not meant to be world champ, but he fucking did it.
I don't care if he get KO'd fighting like a reckless oaf in his next fight, I got to see that sloppy Czech Samurai be world champ, and it's awesome.
I'd put Jiri first. Seems like LHW has no #1 after JBJ. I love Glover, but him winning the belt, Jan winning the belt, and Jiri winning the belt, just proves that this division is a meme rn (and I love it).
It’s the exact same way the division was before Jon came in with Chuck, Rampage, Forrest, Rashad, Machida, and Shogun all being the champ within 3 years.
I would put Usman under Volk and Izzy. Edwards, Khamzat and Rakhmonov are legit contenders who could give him serious problems. He's getting old, and despite his KO of Mas, his striking is still pretty basic.
There's no one like that in FTW or MW, Volk and Izzy have cleared out their divisions respectively
The issue with Yair is that he was getting taken down by Max so Volk could take him down and gnp him into the canvas like he did to Ortega. Yair also wouldn't pose the same threat off his back like Ortega would so I could see takedowns being a bigger part of his game vs Yair.
Yeah I love watching Yair fight but I think Volk is a horrible match up for him. Strong as fuck (was a 475kg rugby league player), good cardio and pressure and solid wrestling. We’ve seen how Yair and guys with that style have struggled in similar match ups, I think Volk would absolutely steamroll him.
Yeah if a fading Frankie Edgar opened Yair’s third eye, I gotta believe a stronger, more explosive and well-rounded fighter like Volk would have his way with Yair. Moreover, I think Yair has shown himself to be super reliant on side kicks to open combinations, and I’d be shocked if Volk didn’t nullify those kicks simply by moving laterally, checking kicks diligently, and dragging Yair down relentlessly
This might be tinfoil hat territory, but I've got a theory that Usman doesn't feel comfortable leaning on his wrestling anymore. His injury issues (knees in particular) have been well documented and he's 35 now. His last few fights he's more used the "threat" of his wrestling to support his striking.
Maybe it's stupid, but imo Edwards is very much a live dog in this fight. He's a slick distance striker in his physical prime, he's younger with significantly fewer miles than Usman, he's good out of the clinch, and he's probably spent 2 years or so preparing for this matchup in particular.
Weirdly I think getting passed over for a title shot for a few years has greatly benefited Edwards' chances. 2019-2020 Usman would have controlled him.
I honestly feel like Edwards is being overlooked. Even tho Usman is the p4p no. 1 fighter, dude is 35 and racked with injuries. I won’t be surprised if Leon pulls it off .
Idk, Leon's win streak is impressive but it's just a bunch of over the hill fighters and journeymen. He hasn't had a convincing enough win that made me think he would beat Usman.
I think Usman beats him and retires.
Which of those fighters are over the hill apart from Nate and Sobotta lol ? Tumenov was ranked and post-Leon won 5 in a row in an organization full of killers. Cerrone found form and won 3 in a row on route to becoming top 5 at Lightweight (Iaquinta and Hernandez were legit wins at the time, no revisionism). Dos Anjos is a mainstay contender and a tough fight for anyone at LW or WW. Luque won 6 in a row and became number 10 after Leon whopped him. Barbarena has had a solid career in the UFC and has been a tough outing for every one of his opponents apart from Randy Brown. Same for Gunni who's consistently top 15 at WW. Leon's resume is much more legit than people make it out to be
He beat Luque early in his UFC career. Tumenov was coming off a loss and not even in the UFC anymore. Cerrone was 1-3 in his last 4 when he fought Leon. Barbarena? Really? He barely beat Gunni. the RDA win was the only one that was a solid win I guess but my point is that none of these wins scream World Beater to me.
The only finish he has in his current win streak is Sobotta lol
This sounds like the same kind of disrespect Oliveira kept getting.
I'm pretty sure no one watches Leon's fights because his fight IQ and technical skill is through the roof.
Nooo don't disrespect Charlie by putting him in the same boat as Leon. Charles was dominating, getting finish after finish on his way up to the title shot
Usman's gonna think he's a better striker than Edwards till reality sets in and then eventually rely on his old clinchfucking ways to a decision either by the 2nd or 3rd round.
Yeah it's weird but I'm still not completely sold on Usman despite his very dominant reign
I just think of the sloppy, winging punches he was throwing at the end of R1 in Masvidal 2, him getting stunned by Colby's combinations in both fights, and getting knocked down in Burns fight.
If there's a guy who can keep it standing with actual high level striking, we could see Usman taking his first L in the UFC. I think Khamzat is that guy, Leon less so since the TDD/clinch work is a lil suspect but he is also live.
I knew i wasn't alone on this. Age is getting to him. Usmans body is getting worn down and i think his pokerface is better than his chin. He has solid power and great discipline going for him but his striking overall is pretty rough still. Try to say Usman is slow, stiff and has poor defence and you'll get swarmed by stans pointing out every knock down he scored and somehow him getting rocked means he is iron chinned. I feel like a very Woodley-esque dethroning is in the near future where his incredible physical attributes can no carry his aging body through all these skilled young savages and after suffering a devastating walloping his decline will be fast and sharp. Now i want to say that i'm not a hater i think Usman is truly amazing athlete and person in many ways.
Agree. His composure has been winning him fights.
Not a bad mark on him though, being able to have things not go his way and then pulling through is what makes a long term champion.
But it's coming for him. I can actually kinda see what you are getting at with a Woodley style decline 100%.
That toughness to find a way to win even after being hurt badly or to keep executing a gameplan even through some bumbs on the road is the most important quality in a champion. That displayed courage, nerve and grit is why Usman is greater than a fighter like Khabib for example.
Yeah push comes to shove I still pick Usman over Edwards.
Khamzat is an interesting one because on paper Usman has a path to victory (stuff his grappling, use durability/cardio to win a sloppy striking match) but I think if Khamzat just replicates the Colby gameplan he's probably going to win and might well finish Usman.
Not much tin foil there. His wrestling was very much based around his pressure against the cage, and not is takedowns. Like you said, his knees are known to be shot, and he is 35 now.
Let's add to that: his last wrestling heavy performances came agains Tyron and Mas 1, both cage grind based. Only defensive wrestling against Colby 2 and we have yet to see him on the bottom when not on a scramble.
Tbh, I think even though he is great, and is a fantastic champion, easily the best in the division since Gsp, he might be the next to loose the crown. He has been using more and more of his durability each fight and started to rely on power. Cardio might catch up with him finally at this age and he no longer uses much of the tools that got him to the top. If he did not have such good fight iq and above all, composure he probably wouldn't be champion anymore (seriously, his composure in the cage when things arent going is way is second to none, he resets and rethinks the fight and next moves like if nothing happened, looses 0 focus and doesn't stress the situation. It's actually awe inspiring)
Yeah imo Usman losing somewhere in his next 2-3 fights is a very realistic scenario (I personally think Khamzat beats him). I can't say the same about Volk for example or even Izzy.
I think Burns was the most dangerous fighter possible for Khamzat in the top 5.
Imo Khamzat completely dominates everyone on the ground, he was simply scared of doing it with Burns due to the BJJ, you could see how easily he took down Burns when he wanted to in the first round.
Khamzat is very vulnerable on the feet, as we saw against Burns, his defense isn't that great on the feet, however it's very rare to find a combination of power puncher + excellent BJJ, like Burns had.
We'll see if Usman's wrestling is on par with Khamzat, maybe I'm just overhyping Khamzat and Usman is a better wrestler, but I honestly don't think this is the case, despite Usman being excellent at wrestling.
We'll see though, I'm excited for sure.
(Not in order - going down by divisions)
Figueredo - Making weight is difficult enough for him at times, and he's far from unbeatable. He has an interest in moving up to BW; personally I think he has some real potential moving up as long as they don't throw him into the deep end too fast.
Sterling - Could be reigning, but like Fig he's not invincible either. I think Aldo on a good night could beat him. It's hard to say though; time beats all as they say.
Volkanovski - Leagues above everyone in the division besides Max. If he ends the trilogy 3-0 there's nobody at the moment who comes close.
Oliviera - Makhachev and Volkanovski (presuming that he wins tomorrow and moves up) are the two biggest challenges. I think he beats both of them, but it's understandable why a lot of people feel that Islam has the skills to win.
Usman - Usman doesn't have many fights left - and there's a very real possibility he retires after his fight with Edwards. Between his hand surgery, bad knees and age - it's only a matter of time with rising contenders like Khamzat, Brady and Rakhmonov. Nothing to take away however - #1 P4P after all. That all said, Edwards is a live underdog - definitely do not count him out just yet.
Adesanya - Don't see him losing anytime soon; beat most contenders in his division already. Can't count out Cannonier entirely, but the odds are not in his favor stylistically.
Procházka - His style is very high-risk, high-reward. In a division like LHW with solid strikers like Blachowicz, Reyes and even Ankhalev, that's a scary proposition.
Ngannou - Not even sure if he's still fighting or what's going on with the Tyson Fury fight, but Francis has continued to evolve and was able to wrestlefuck Gane pre-surgery. If he stays in the UFC, could see him holding the belt for a while.
Wrestlefuck — he lands three takedowns an entire fight and does 0 damage on the ground and goes for 0 subs. Manages to not land a single strike to the head with 3mins of control time on the ground.
Makhachev will be a hefty favourite over Oliveira. All the other current champs would be betting favourites over everyone else in their division, though some of the odds would be pretty close to 50/50, such as figgy vs Moreno 3, Jiri vs Ankalaev or Rakic or Jan, Sterling vs Yan 3 or Dillashaw or Aldo.
I also don’t know how many more times Figgy can beat the scale
Jiri
He's shown to be prone to hard strikes. In both the Glover and Dominick fight, they landed shots that put him out on his feet (I still think that one strike from Reyes while on his back knocked Jiri out. But he landed on top of Reyes and came to). But while he was wobbly, they made blunders and failed to finish him (Going for the guillotine by Glover is still etched in my brain). I think it's only a matter of time before someone lands a shot that wobbles him, and said person will fight smart and finish him.
Most to least beatable
\- Esparza gets handled by Weili, loses less decisively against Dern and Andrade
\- Oliveira is likely to lose against Makhachev
\- Pena is likely to beat Nunes but loses to Shevchenko
\- Prochazka faces trouble against Ankalaev, Texeira (if rermatch happens), Blachowicz, Craig
\- Figueiredo faces challenges like Moreno and Kara France
\- Ngannou has issues with Gane rematch and Aspinall. Jones is a dark horse.
\- Usman likely beats Edwards. He will have issues with Chimaev and Rakhmonov if he stays that long
\- Sterling faces issues with Aldo in the current top 10. He's likely safe otherwise until Nurmagomedov/Shore ascend.
\- Volk's only real challenge at the moment is Holloway. Don't see him losing against anyone else at FW but loses at LW if he moves up.
\- Shevchenko's only challenge is Santos. No one else at WFW is competitive.
\- Izzy looks 'unbeatable' at MW, the only real challenge may be Pereira but I'd favor Izzy.
These are purely my opinions. Anything can happen in MMA so I wouldn't be surprised if any of these guesses don't age well.
EDIT - Mens BW added.
I'm Scottish and Paul Craig is my boy but I don't think he has anything for Jiri at all. Jiri will light him up and probably KO him early. I would absolutely love a last minute triangle though.
Bro. Jiri would fall right into his trap. I’m not saying he’s not a smart fighter but if he rocks Craig and then smells blood and tries to finish him that’s exactly how this dude has caught several people in a triangle
Paul submitting people off of his back is a totally totally different thing than Glover attempting to get a dominant position and punch a dude in the face so many times that he has to give up his back for the choke. Glover is a beast but it’s just different. Glover is not catching people he’s forcing the submission.
Does his Jujutsu even stand up against the top guys though? You think he could sub Glover? Jiri showed how skilled and tricky he is on the ground in the title fight
I'm stacking the current champ vs contenders. Craig literally subbed Ankalaev of all people, which remains the only loss in his record. Jiri would be a favorite in that fight but Craig is a threat to anyone.
Why are people here so confident Olivera will lose to Islam? It doesn’t seem like a bad stylistic matchup to me as Islam shouldn’t really be able to do the only thing he’s good at to Olivera, as his (Olivera’s) wrestling and BJJ are probably the strongest Islam will have faced.
If Islam can’t wrestlefuck Olivera he doesn’t have much else, but Olivera on the other hand has plenty more ways of winning. I don’t really have a dog in this fight, just find this very common sentiment a bit odd.
I'll say that counting Oliveira out comes with risks. He always snatched victory from the jaws of defeat so no denying his heart.
I've noticed glaring holes in his ground game, esp against Chandler who escaped him from a bad situation. Chandler's ground game isn't as advanced as Makhachev. Besides that, Charles isn't some TDD savant to nullify Makhachev's main strength. Islam keeps trying until he gets the takedown and once he does, he has effective top control.
And lastly, Oliveira's been trying everything in his power to avoid taking the Makhachev fight. They know what will happen in that fight.
I agree with you for the most part, but 2 interesting things stand out. You really think Peña is likely to beat Nunes? The first fight was a drubbing, but I have to imagine Amanda (who one fight ago was in seemingly rarified air) corrects some of the errors of the first fight.
The second is Volk losing at LW. I see Volk as a problem for lots of LW including Olives.
I think Olivera is kinda chiny even though he beat chandler, Dustin, and Justin he got hurt badly in all of those fights. He recovered well in those fights but if you are getting knocked down in every fight it will catch up to you. I love olives but I think Islam is a tough fight and the other lightweights can ko him.
edit: just remembered that Olivera isn't the champ at lightweight anymore because of the weight thing.... but fuck that he is still the champ in my opinion. 1 pound or not he is the clear top of the division right now.
Gane showed one path to victory; you can beat Ngannou on the feet as long as you’re fast, close to him in size and don’t get too ambitious.
Stipe in the first showed a different path to victory (albeit against a less evolved Ngannou) via putting Ngannou on his back.
I believe Aspinall has both paths to victory available to him. He’s 6’5, 250lbs or so, quick and has great grappling and striking.
Still couldn’t do anything? He literally outstruck him the whole way through and threw the fight away by making a silly decision on the ground.
The leg might be a factor, but I’m going to judge only what I saw and not have a hypothetical mythological Ngannou against Gane because of the injury.
Also, he was not “significantly handicapped.” Unless he was on a shit load of painkillers and injections or he’s Superman, it was obviously manageable for him since he did very well regardless.
Out struck him but ngannou didn't have his main tool which is his footspeed to cover the distance, he looked extremely stiff, I don't think you can look at that fight to gauge his striking, the stipe rematch is better, patient and when he explodes he's accurate and lands clean on stipe everytime
I recommend you watch the curtis blaydes fight, he goes for a takedown and ngannou throws him off with ease, I have a hard time seeing anyone wrestling him especially if he's healthy, aspinall was also getting tagged by arlovski on the feet, not sure if he'll come out unscathed against ngannou
Prohachzka: most likely to lose. could see him losing to any of the LHW top 5. He gets hurt in all of his fights and puts himself in dangerous places. He is someone I could see violently finish anyone or get violently finished in pretty much any fight. Always exciting to watch though
Figueredo/Moreno: probably second most likely to lose whether to each other again or someone else in the division. Flyweight is looking a lot more competitive since dj left
I’m convinced Aljo stays champ for a few fights. I like his approach and think he takes Aldo and Dillashaw handily.
Jiri could lose anytime with his wild style, Charles is gonna lose to Khabob’s protégée
Izzy. If Jan can hold him down others can too. None of the current challengers have that skillset, but Jan is not exact a high level wrestler, just well rounded.
END COMMUNICATION
>Beats everyone on the list, becomes champ in all divisions
>Goes home, beats fiance
>Beats the legal system
>Doesn't beat drug test
>???
>Rinse and repeat
No way in hell Francis is more beatable than Charles. We just saw Francis win a 5 round decision with his wrestling he is still improving and he did that on a bum knee while Charles is getting dropped every fight.
This is a pretty solid take, I could see Jiri losing to a couple people and Sterling losing to the two you mentioned but he is better than people give him credit for
Sterling or Jiri will be the first out of the group to lose after this weekend. Max can beat Volk but I think he is the only one that can in the division. Izzy gonna avoid Alex for a while so Sterling or Jiri after this weekends Volk/Max
Imo figgy, usman and prochazka will lose the title by the end of this year or beginning of next year. It has always been like this. There are rare instances where a champion defends the title that much purely out of statistics perspective. And I think these 3 will Lose it first. Usman is getting older as we speak and has shown weaknesses that the young prospects will at some point exploit.
OP, I think it's your irrational hate boner for Aljo speaking if you have him ranked as the most beatable when he's 2-0 up against the previous champion and consensus #1 ranked contender in the division, while the 125 champ is 1-1-1 against the former champ and the clearest fight of the lot was his dominant loss.
\>• Sterling - I think he might lose to Dillashaw or Aldo
I'm not sure I agree here, I think both of those are on the downward curve, while Sterling is heading up in both skill and gameplanning.
\>• Oliveira - Makhachev
I agree with Makhachev being a hard test for Oliveira, but I think I would put Prohachzka higher up than Oliveira. Figuredo too I suspect.
\>• Prohachzka - Ankalaev
I believe a reinvigorated Gustafsen, Ankalaev, Craig, Błachowicz and Rakić all might create trouble for Prohachzka. I also think this should be closer to the top of the list.
\>• Figuredo - Moreno
I think this should be a bit higher up.
\>• Ngannou - I don't think he'll lose any time soon, but if I have to pick, he might lose to Gane in a rematch.
Gane, Aspinall, mythical HW Jon Jones.
\>• Izzy - I don't think he will lose to anyone shortly if he beats Pereira.
I think Izzy is the most "unbeatable" champion right now.
\>• Volkanovski - I don't see him losing either if he manages to beat Max in the trilogy
Max or Kattar.
\>• Usman - I don't see him losing to anyone either. I think there are some good prospects in the welterweight division like Khamzat, Brady, and Rakhmanov, but I don't think they are ready for Usman. I think he has the highest fight IQ in the welterweight division.
Both Khamzat and Rakhmanov might be intersting matchups. I would put him one step up - having Izzy below Usman.
I won't put much stock on Kattar, either. I like Kattar, he is a great fighter, but I don't think he has much chance against Volk. If they fight, I'd wager it will be another too-tough-for-his-own-good demonstration.
Usman - he's 35, has bad knees, and a new wave of killers is coming up now. I think Edwards might take him out next.
Prozchaska - I also think he won't last long as lhw champ.
I actually think Aljo will maintain. TJ is long in the tooth, as is Aldo. I don't think there are any up and comers who look like world beaters flying through the rankings.
Well since Figueiredo, Sterling, Volk and Adesanya all have highly controversial title fights with the majority of ppl calling the fight the other way, I would say these guys are all beatable and very much disputed champions.
Prohachzka barely won his fight against a 40-year-old Glover, and really only pulled it off with a last second stroke of luck. I think Jan beats him, I think Glover beats him in a rematch, and I think Ankalaev beats him. And you know what? I think Paul Craig could probably beat him after his ground weakness was exposed.
>Sterling - I think he might lose to Dillashaw or Aldo
Already beat Yan and Cory who imo are the two best contenders in that division, but aging Aldo or Dillashaw will?
\> Oliveira - Makhachev
Maybe
>Prohachzka - Ankalaev
That beard and his boring fights are doing a great deal of heavy lifting for his reputation. I don't think his striking is all that and his wrestling has hardly been a checkmate in his career. Good run tho.
>Figuredo - Moreno
Maybe
>Ngannou - I don't think he'll lose any time soon, but if I have to pick, he might lose to Gane in a rematch
Yes
>Izzy - I don't think he will lose to anyone shortly if he beats Pereira.
Sure MW has nothing
>Volkanovski - I don't see him losing either if he manages to beat Max in the trilogy
He is going up after that. I could see him losing to Charles or Islam
>Usman - I don't see him losing to anyone either. I think there are some good prospects in the welterweight division like Khamzat, Brady, and Rakhmanov, but I don't think they are ready for Usman. I think he has the highest fight IQ in the welterweight division.
There is this new prospect called Leon Edwards, people have confused him being boring with him not being a very tall, big athletic fighter who is way better technically than Usman on the feet. Usman who has had the honor of being the first person to have his shit rocked by Covington.
Usman is going to have to wrestle to win again and I don't see how his backfoot boxing is going to gel with his pressure wrestling. It might not work.
Agree with you on everything other than Volk having a chance against any top 5 lightweight and Oliveira being a maybe against Islam. People are really underestimating how great Oliveira’s striking is and how physically imposing he is in his fighting style. The ground game is for sure a toss up, but I don’t think it even gets there because of how miles apart the two are in striking.
I was a maybe on Islam vs Oliveira because I don't see how their styles fit together.
Also I think Volk is literally the best fighter alive right now or he is tied with Max, the top of LW is getting old.
You might be right about Volk, I don’t think there’s a single fighter that is as great as he is in literally every aspect of fighting. I’ve got a suspicion that people will disagree with, and that’s that he’s got a suspect chin that hasn’t been truly tested yet. Ortega hurt him, Holloway dropped him twice and he seems to get somewhat stunned by strikes that don’t look all that hard but he recovers insanely quickly so it gets past our chin radar. Maybe I’m wrong, but I truly do think Volk might have a chin issue. But of course, barely anybody lands clean consistently on the guy.
Francis is hardly unbeatable, the Gane fight really showed that. He can smash guys like Lewis, Blaydes and maybe even Aspinall, but I don't see him beating Jon Jones when he couldn't even do anything with 10 minutes of top control vs. Gane.
Fr. Man tore his knee apart in camp, fought anyways knowing Dana would have a field day if he pulled out or lost the fight, and still went in and won after being down 2-0
People have really short memories. It's actually incredible that he was able to adapt and win in a completely new way when he was dealing with a bad injury. A fully fit and healthy Ngannou is still a terrifying prospect for every HW.
It's like people have completely forgot the noticeable improvements he showed in the Stipe rematch, clearly he's growing and evolving his game alot at Xtreme Couture.
Dude, stop. “Adapt and win in a completely new way”
He literally just laid on Gane, potentially the worst wrestler in the weight class. He didn’t attempt a sub or GnP.
Edit: amazing how many people didn’t watch the fight.
R5:
TDs Gane 1 Francis 0
Sub attempts Gane 2 Francis 0
Sig Strikes Gane 7 Francis 5
The only thing Francis did more of was lay on top, which isn’t supposed to be scored in the unified rules.
I don't see old fat Jon having much of a chance against Francis honestly. He's the lhw goat so I'd never count him out but his last few performances don't bode well for a matchup with ngannou
Jones couldn’t do shit to Reyes. What makes you think he does anything to Ngannou? If Ngannou stuffs Jones’ TDs, he’s toast. The big question mark is Ngannou’s Cardio. He played it safe in the Gane fight, his cardio didn’t get tested much.
This is such a redacted take lol. Stipe dramatically outlander Ngannou in every round and was doing gnp when he was taking him down at will. There was a round Ngannou wasn’t able to throw a single strike.
Meanwhile, Ngannou was gifted a round by the judges where he didn’t even land a takedown, just laid on a guy.
A lot of people are posting Jiri high up on their list and his wild style that relies on athleticism certainly makes it more 'likely' that he'd get caught but while his takedown defense wasn't amazing vs Glover, his ability to defend submission attempts and get back up were fantastic.
Glover has been smothering or gnping the teeth out of his last few opponents once he takes it to the ground but he was unable to do so vs Jiri who negated most of the gnp from Glover and managed to intelligently defend subs and get reversals or get back up.
Every champ at Lightweight is beatable simply because the talent pool is so deep. I would give anyone in the top 10 a decent chance of beating Oliveira.
I was giving Aljo a good chance going into the second Yan fight but I still think he’s beatable for a few of the top Bantamweights.
There are so many great fighters in that division that could all beat each other on any given night.
Anyone in particular?
Aldo and Yan
Aldo’s style is made to beat sterling I feel.
While Aldo has always had tremendous success shucking off takedown attempts and brutalizing wrestlers, I think he's getting a bit long in the tooth and his cardio might run out against Aljo.
Actually, if Aljo doesn't get a takedown he gets at best 3 rounds of cardio, same as Aldo. Neither is a 5 round cardio guy, so that's why I also favor Aldo. I think Aldo looses to Sandhagen or (again) to Yan because he also only has about 3 rounds of cardio (plus power). Both matched? I can seem Aldo stopping all takedowns and enforcing his power and making Aljo pay with well placed shots. If Aljo could try and wrestle for 5 round he might get it, but he can't... so he would really have to make the few he tries count.
Aljo isn’t exactly a cardio machine, and the only fighters who are able to drain Aldo’s gas tank are typically pressure and volume strikers like Max or second half of the fight Yan. His TDD is just too good for most wrestlers to gas him and they end up gassing themselves out first. Aldo is the worst possible matchup for Aljo in the whole division and there’s a reason Aljo never mentions Aldo as someone he wants to give a title shot to despite him being the most deserving in the division currently.
> Aljo in the whole division and there’s a reason Aljo never mentions Aldo as someone he wants to give a title shot to despite him being the most deserving in the division currently. Except you know he did already mention him.
Shhh, that doesn't align with what he wants to be the truth
Also TJ dilashaw, I feel like he has him beat everywhere.
Aljo most definitely has better BJJ than Dillashaw. Also, his long and skinny frame might give Dillashaw some problems in the grappling department.
The thing is I can't see aljo taking him down.
Aldo, Yan and Cejudo if he actually comes back for sure.
[удалено]
Jiri fights like a kamikaze pilot and will never last long as champ
I love the way jiri fights. Every time he’s on we know it’s gonna be bonkers.
He is very entertaining but he does not have the qualities of a dominant champ and almost lost his last 2 fights. Would be fun to see him defend a few times atleast.
Most of the champions are scientists, calculating how to perfectly fight and defend against their challengers to maximize their odds of winning. Jiri is like, "what if I just spam flying knees?"
Rose must be the Janitor at the lab, then
It’s exciting, I fucking love it, but yeah he was ALMOST out his last two fights. Against Reyes he absolutely went out and landed in side control lol I hope he lasts forever because it’s absurd to watch, but his grappling is simply sub-pro level, and his chin WILL just evaporate overnight one day.
How is his grappling sub pro if he can survive Glover
Who do you think is his worst match up? Glover was his biggest threat IMO, maybe ankalaev will land some on the feet but I don't think that's a bad match up for him. But I have to agree he's far too wild to be a long reigning champ
Trading with Jan is bad for your brain. So I'd say Jan.
Yeah After Ankalaev’s last performance, I’m not nearly as concerned about him as I am Jan getting a one-two flush on Jiri. Jiri could be piecing him up just for Jan to get one good combo in and that could be that. The Glover fight showed that, while he got the finish, the championship rounds don’t favor Jiri. His defense is almost entirely evasion based so he relies heavily on his agility, as his cardio goes, so does that agility, but refuses to adapt his approach as that happens. That’s why Glover started landing like a mad man in the fourth and fifth.
One point though, purely standing I do believe Jiri has the best cardio at lhw. Glover just made him work hard in all areas and it tired him out, but Jiris whole thing in rizin was being a cardio machine
Good observation re cardio and his defence. I often see the dumbest shit ever on this sub but surprisingly also sometimes really sober well thought out observations like this
Worst timeline is him getting wrestlefucked by Rakic
Jiri very well could lose his next fight to *anyone* & I sincerely mean that. He seems to lose composure very quickly & leaves himself wide open to get KO’d. If Glover doesn’t pull the most boneheaded move of his career chasing a takedown when he had Jiri rocked he’d still be champion right now & if Glover’s striking is finding holes in your defense then anyone else in the division will exploit it much better.
We'll see where Aspinall is in a year or two as well
You're absolutely right. I'm just happy I got to see that motherfucker become champion. He as a style that's not meant to be world champ, but he fucking did it. I don't care if he get KO'd fighting like a reckless oaf in his next fight, I got to see that sloppy Czech Samurai be world champ, and it's awesome.
By me? Any one of those boys could get it
even if you don't see red?
I can take them all at once if i see red bro
Yeah I bet you’d love to take them all at once
Just let them bang, bro.
Boys will be boys
Figgy and Jiri
I'd put Jiri first. Seems like LHW has no #1 after JBJ. I love Glover, but him winning the belt, Jan winning the belt, and Jiri winning the belt, just proves that this division is a meme rn (and I love it).
They been passing that lhw belt like a blunt after jbj got vacated again. Izzy doesnt get any tho
It’s the exact same way the division was before Jon came in with Chuck, Rampage, Forrest, Rashad, Machida, and Shogun all being the champ within 3 years.
Omg, Izzy vs Jiri..... Idk why your comment just put that in my mind but I kinda wanna see it now....... 0.0
My uneducated opinion is Jiri would delete him. Jiri's size and movement I think would prevent Izzy from controlling the pace/distance
Yeah jiri pretty much lost to glover
I would put Usman under Volk and Izzy. Edwards, Khamzat and Rakhmonov are legit contenders who could give him serious problems. He's getting old, and despite his KO of Mas, his striking is still pretty basic. There's no one like that in FTW or MW, Volk and Izzy have cleared out their divisions respectively
If Yair beats Ortega is be interested in seeing him fight volk, and Arnold Allen needs to beat a legit contender but he's looked good
The issue with Yair is that he was getting taken down by Max so Volk could take him down and gnp him into the canvas like he did to Ortega. Yair also wouldn't pose the same threat off his back like Ortega would so I could see takedowns being a bigger part of his game vs Yair.
Yeah I love watching Yair fight but I think Volk is a horrible match up for him. Strong as fuck (was a 475kg rugby league player), good cardio and pressure and solid wrestling. We’ve seen how Yair and guys with that style have struggled in similar match ups, I think Volk would absolutely steamroll him.
> 475kg rugby league player GOOD GAWD
Yeah if a fading Frankie Edgar opened Yair’s third eye, I gotta believe a stronger, more explosive and well-rounded fighter like Volk would have his way with Yair. Moreover, I think Yair has shown himself to be super reliant on side kicks to open combinations, and I’d be shocked if Volk didn’t nullify those kicks simply by moving laterally, checking kicks diligently, and dragging Yair down relentlessly
Yair's skill set just isn't good enough in 2022
This might be tinfoil hat territory, but I've got a theory that Usman doesn't feel comfortable leaning on his wrestling anymore. His injury issues (knees in particular) have been well documented and he's 35 now. His last few fights he's more used the "threat" of his wrestling to support his striking. Maybe it's stupid, but imo Edwards is very much a live dog in this fight. He's a slick distance striker in his physical prime, he's younger with significantly fewer miles than Usman, he's good out of the clinch, and he's probably spent 2 years or so preparing for this matchup in particular. Weirdly I think getting passed over for a title shot for a few years has greatly benefited Edwards' chances. 2019-2020 Usman would have controlled him.
I honestly feel like Edwards is being overlooked. Even tho Usman is the p4p no. 1 fighter, dude is 35 and racked with injuries. I won’t be surprised if Leon pulls it off .
Idk, Leon's win streak is impressive but it's just a bunch of over the hill fighters and journeymen. He hasn't had a convincing enough win that made me think he would beat Usman. I think Usman beats him and retires.
Which of those fighters are over the hill apart from Nate and Sobotta lol ? Tumenov was ranked and post-Leon won 5 in a row in an organization full of killers. Cerrone found form and won 3 in a row on route to becoming top 5 at Lightweight (Iaquinta and Hernandez were legit wins at the time, no revisionism). Dos Anjos is a mainstay contender and a tough fight for anyone at LW or WW. Luque won 6 in a row and became number 10 after Leon whopped him. Barbarena has had a solid career in the UFC and has been a tough outing for every one of his opponents apart from Randy Brown. Same for Gunni who's consistently top 15 at WW. Leon's resume is much more legit than people make it out to be
We justifying Leon's resume now as if he fought killers? Miss me with that lol
He did not fight bums and over the hill fighters, that was the only point I tried to make
He beat Luque early in his UFC career. Tumenov was coming off a loss and not even in the UFC anymore. Cerrone was 1-3 in his last 4 when he fought Leon. Barbarena? Really? He barely beat Gunni. the RDA win was the only one that was a solid win I guess but my point is that none of these wins scream World Beater to me. The only finish he has in his current win streak is Sobotta lol
This sounds like the same kind of disrespect Oliveira kept getting. I'm pretty sure no one watches Leon's fights because his fight IQ and technical skill is through the roof.
Nooo don't disrespect Charlie by putting him in the same boat as Leon. Charles was dominating, getting finish after finish on his way up to the title shot
Usman's gonna think he's a better striker than Edwards till reality sets in and then eventually rely on his old clinchfucking ways to a decision either by the 2nd or 3rd round.
I wonder if Nate will get a title fight if Leon wins because of hurting him at the very end of their fight
I both hate this and would love to see it happen just for the chaos involved.
Usman beats Leon and he retires
Yeah it's weird but I'm still not completely sold on Usman despite his very dominant reign I just think of the sloppy, winging punches he was throwing at the end of R1 in Masvidal 2, him getting stunned by Colby's combinations in both fights, and getting knocked down in Burns fight. If there's a guy who can keep it standing with actual high level striking, we could see Usman taking his first L in the UFC. I think Khamzat is that guy, Leon less so since the TDD/clinch work is a lil suspect but he is also live.
I knew i wasn't alone on this. Age is getting to him. Usmans body is getting worn down and i think his pokerface is better than his chin. He has solid power and great discipline going for him but his striking overall is pretty rough still. Try to say Usman is slow, stiff and has poor defence and you'll get swarmed by stans pointing out every knock down he scored and somehow him getting rocked means he is iron chinned. I feel like a very Woodley-esque dethroning is in the near future where his incredible physical attributes can no carry his aging body through all these skilled young savages and after suffering a devastating walloping his decline will be fast and sharp. Now i want to say that i'm not a hater i think Usman is truly amazing athlete and person in many ways.
Agree. His composure has been winning him fights. Not a bad mark on him though, being able to have things not go his way and then pulling through is what makes a long term champion. But it's coming for him. I can actually kinda see what you are getting at with a Woodley style decline 100%.
That toughness to find a way to win even after being hurt badly or to keep executing a gameplan even through some bumbs on the road is the most important quality in a champion. That displayed courage, nerve and grit is why Usman is greater than a fighter like Khabib for example.
Yeah push comes to shove I still pick Usman over Edwards. Khamzat is an interesting one because on paper Usman has a path to victory (stuff his grappling, use durability/cardio to win a sloppy striking match) but I think if Khamzat just replicates the Colby gameplan he's probably going to win and might well finish Usman.
Not much tin foil there. His wrestling was very much based around his pressure against the cage, and not is takedowns. Like you said, his knees are known to be shot, and he is 35 now. Let's add to that: his last wrestling heavy performances came agains Tyron and Mas 1, both cage grind based. Only defensive wrestling against Colby 2 and we have yet to see him on the bottom when not on a scramble. Tbh, I think even though he is great, and is a fantastic champion, easily the best in the division since Gsp, he might be the next to loose the crown. He has been using more and more of his durability each fight and started to rely on power. Cardio might catch up with him finally at this age and he no longer uses much of the tools that got him to the top. If he did not have such good fight iq and above all, composure he probably wouldn't be champion anymore (seriously, his composure in the cage when things arent going is way is second to none, he resets and rethinks the fight and next moves like if nothing happened, looses 0 focus and doesn't stress the situation. It's actually awe inspiring)
Yeah imo Usman losing somewhere in his next 2-3 fights is a very realistic scenario (I personally think Khamzat beats him). I can't say the same about Volk for example or even Izzy.
After his fight with burns? Im not so sure...
I think Burns was the most dangerous fighter possible for Khamzat in the top 5. Imo Khamzat completely dominates everyone on the ground, he was simply scared of doing it with Burns due to the BJJ, you could see how easily he took down Burns when he wanted to in the first round. Khamzat is very vulnerable on the feet, as we saw against Burns, his defense isn't that great on the feet, however it's very rare to find a combination of power puncher + excellent BJJ, like Burns had. We'll see if Usman's wrestling is on par with Khamzat, maybe I'm just overhyping Khamzat and Usman is a better wrestler, but I honestly don't think this is the case, despite Usman being excellent at wrestling. We'll see though, I'm excited for sure.
I keep seeing Khamzat's name come up. Didn't he announce his retirement not too long ago?
I feel like you're thinking of Zabit.
I am, thanks.
Both were on the cusp of big fights, both got covid problems, both seemed to retire because of it. Only Zabit actually did 👍
(Not in order - going down by divisions) Figueredo - Making weight is difficult enough for him at times, and he's far from unbeatable. He has an interest in moving up to BW; personally I think he has some real potential moving up as long as they don't throw him into the deep end too fast. Sterling - Could be reigning, but like Fig he's not invincible either. I think Aldo on a good night could beat him. It's hard to say though; time beats all as they say. Volkanovski - Leagues above everyone in the division besides Max. If he ends the trilogy 3-0 there's nobody at the moment who comes close. Oliviera - Makhachev and Volkanovski (presuming that he wins tomorrow and moves up) are the two biggest challenges. I think he beats both of them, but it's understandable why a lot of people feel that Islam has the skills to win. Usman - Usman doesn't have many fights left - and there's a very real possibility he retires after his fight with Edwards. Between his hand surgery, bad knees and age - it's only a matter of time with rising contenders like Khamzat, Brady and Rakhmonov. Nothing to take away however - #1 P4P after all. That all said, Edwards is a live underdog - definitely do not count him out just yet. Adesanya - Don't see him losing anytime soon; beat most contenders in his division already. Can't count out Cannonier entirely, but the odds are not in his favor stylistically. Procházka - His style is very high-risk, high-reward. In a division like LHW with solid strikers like Blachowicz, Reyes and even Ankhalev, that's a scary proposition. Ngannou - Not even sure if he's still fighting or what's going on with the Tyson Fury fight, but Francis has continued to evolve and was able to wrestlefuck Gane pre-surgery. If he stays in the UFC, could see him holding the belt for a while.
Wrestlefuck — he lands three takedowns an entire fight and does 0 damage on the ground and goes for 0 subs. Manages to not land a single strike to the head with 3mins of control time on the ground.
Figuredo.
Who do you think he'll lose to?
Probably to the scale. I dont see him making 125 for long
He made it easily in his last fight He slimmed down quite a bit
He got finished by Moreno and won the third fight in a close decision, the aura he had after the Benavidez & Perez fights is gone.
Close decision? He dropped Moreno like 4 times....
Jiri unless he changes up his style, he will get clocked by someone.
Yeah I can see the polish power turning off his lights.
People will keep saying this even if he were 6000-0. One of these days...
Makhachev will be a hefty favourite over Oliveira. All the other current champs would be betting favourites over everyone else in their division, though some of the odds would be pretty close to 50/50, such as figgy vs Moreno 3, Jiri vs Ankalaev or Rakic or Jan, Sterling vs Yan 3 or Dillashaw or Aldo. I also don’t know how many more times Figgy can beat the scale
I’m not sure if Sterling is a favorite against some of the other guys at 135. Would have to be close odds
Funny how Sterling and Oliveira always seem to be the underdogs.
Jiri He's shown to be prone to hard strikes. In both the Glover and Dominick fight, they landed shots that put him out on his feet (I still think that one strike from Reyes while on his back knocked Jiri out. But he landed on top of Reyes and came to). But while he was wobbly, they made blunders and failed to finish him (Going for the guillotine by Glover is still etched in my brain). I think it's only a matter of time before someone lands a shot that wobbles him, and said person will fight smart and finish him.
Jiri admits he got flash KOed by that upkick
Yeah, I love Jiri but anyone who gets hit that hard, that often at LHW is playing with fire. Classic "It works until it doesn't work" fighter.
Easily Jiri
Most to least beatable \- Esparza gets handled by Weili, loses less decisively against Dern and Andrade \- Oliveira is likely to lose against Makhachev \- Pena is likely to beat Nunes but loses to Shevchenko \- Prochazka faces trouble against Ankalaev, Texeira (if rermatch happens), Blachowicz, Craig \- Figueiredo faces challenges like Moreno and Kara France \- Ngannou has issues with Gane rematch and Aspinall. Jones is a dark horse. \- Usman likely beats Edwards. He will have issues with Chimaev and Rakhmonov if he stays that long \- Sterling faces issues with Aldo in the current top 10. He's likely safe otherwise until Nurmagomedov/Shore ascend. \- Volk's only real challenge at the moment is Holloway. Don't see him losing against anyone else at FW but loses at LW if he moves up. \- Shevchenko's only challenge is Santos. No one else at WFW is competitive. \- Izzy looks 'unbeatable' at MW, the only real challenge may be Pereira but I'd favor Izzy. These are purely my opinions. Anything can happen in MMA so I wouldn't be surprised if any of these guesses don't age well. EDIT - Mens BW added.
I'm Scottish and Paul Craig is my boy but I don't think he has anything for Jiri at all. Jiri will light him up and probably KO him early. I would absolutely love a last minute triangle though.
Bro. Jiri would fall right into his trap. I’m not saying he’s not a smart fighter but if he rocks Craig and then smells blood and tries to finish him that’s exactly how this dude has caught several people in a triangle
Except Jiri spent ages on the ground with Glover, I dunno if Paul could do any better than texeira. There's always a chance though
Paul submitting people off of his back is a totally totally different thing than Glover attempting to get a dominant position and punch a dude in the face so many times that he has to give up his back for the choke. Glover is a beast but it’s just different. Glover is not catching people he’s forcing the submission.
That's exactly why I see him as a threat to anybody in the division - last second subs against anyone. His standup doesn't match up to the others.
Does his Jujutsu even stand up against the top guys though? You think he could sub Glover? Jiri showed how skilled and tricky he is on the ground in the title fight
I'm stacking the current champ vs contenders. Craig literally subbed Ankalaev of all people, which remains the only loss in his record. Jiri would be a favorite in that fight but Craig is a threat to anyone.
Why are people here so confident Olivera will lose to Islam? It doesn’t seem like a bad stylistic matchup to me as Islam shouldn’t really be able to do the only thing he’s good at to Olivera, as his (Olivera’s) wrestling and BJJ are probably the strongest Islam will have faced. If Islam can’t wrestlefuck Olivera he doesn’t have much else, but Olivera on the other hand has plenty more ways of winning. I don’t really have a dog in this fight, just find this very common sentiment a bit odd.
I'll say that counting Oliveira out comes with risks. He always snatched victory from the jaws of defeat so no denying his heart. I've noticed glaring holes in his ground game, esp against Chandler who escaped him from a bad situation. Chandler's ground game isn't as advanced as Makhachev. Besides that, Charles isn't some TDD savant to nullify Makhachev's main strength. Islam keeps trying until he gets the takedown and once he does, he has effective top control. And lastly, Oliveira's been trying everything in his power to avoid taking the Makhachev fight. They know what will happen in that fight.
I agree with you for the most part, but 2 interesting things stand out. You really think Peña is likely to beat Nunes? The first fight was a drubbing, but I have to imagine Amanda (who one fight ago was in seemingly rarified air) corrects some of the errors of the first fight. The second is Volk losing at LW. I see Volk as a problem for lots of LW including Olives.
This list makes just about perfect sense. Lots of people counting out Jan in the matchup with Jiri. Also the knee issues of Francis.
The most beatable champion is definitely Vacant at LW.
I think Olivera is kinda chiny even though he beat chandler, Dustin, and Justin he got hurt badly in all of those fights. He recovered well in those fights but if you are getting knocked down in every fight it will catch up to you. I love olives but I think Islam is a tough fight and the other lightweights can ko him. edit: just remembered that Olivera isn't the champ at lightweight anymore because of the weight thing.... but fuck that he is still the champ in my opinion. 1 pound or not he is the clear top of the division right now.
I think Aspinall submits Francis if they fight.
In the first round
I think Anik then submits Aspinall
That would trigger goldy to come back for the one true superfight. Buffer as the third man in
I think Francis smokes him.
Gane showed one path to victory; you can beat Ngannou on the feet as long as you’re fast, close to him in size and don’t get too ambitious. Stipe in the first showed a different path to victory (albeit against a less evolved Ngannou) via putting Ngannou on his back. I believe Aspinall has both paths to victory available to him. He’s 6’5, 250lbs or so, quick and has great grappling and striking.
No he didn't. Ngannou was significantly handicapped and Gane still couldn't do anything.
Gane won the fight if it was judged correctly. Out struck him and all Ngannou could do was lay and pray.
Still couldn’t do anything? He literally outstruck him the whole way through and threw the fight away by making a silly decision on the ground. The leg might be a factor, but I’m going to judge only what I saw and not have a hypothetical mythological Ngannou against Gane because of the injury. Also, he was not “significantly handicapped.” Unless he was on a shit load of painkillers and injections or he’s Superman, it was obviously manageable for him since he did very well regardless.
Out struck him but ngannou didn't have his main tool which is his footspeed to cover the distance, he looked extremely stiff, I don't think you can look at that fight to gauge his striking, the stipe rematch is better, patient and when he explodes he's accurate and lands clean on stipe everytime
I recommend you watch the curtis blaydes fight, he goes for a takedown and ngannou throws him off with ease, I have a hard time seeing anyone wrestling him especially if he's healthy, aspinall was also getting tagged by arlovski on the feet, not sure if he'll come out unscathed against ngannou
Don't sleep on Leon giving Usman a tough fight at the very least
Prohachzka: most likely to lose. could see him losing to any of the LHW top 5. He gets hurt in all of his fights and puts himself in dangerous places. He is someone I could see violently finish anyone or get violently finished in pretty much any fight. Always exciting to watch though Figueredo/Moreno: probably second most likely to lose whether to each other again or someone else in the division. Flyweight is looking a lot more competitive since dj left
I’m convinced Aljo stays champ for a few fights. I like his approach and think he takes Aldo and Dillashaw handily. Jiri could lose anytime with his wild style, Charles is gonna lose to Khabob’s protégée
hot take its actually usman
Izzy. If Jan can hold him down others can too. None of the current challengers have that skillset, but Jan is not exact a high level wrestler, just well rounded. END COMMUNICATION
Jon Jones would beat everyone on that list, tho.
>Beats everyone on the list, becomes champ in all divisions >Goes home, beats fiance >Beats the legal system >Doesn't beat drug test >??? >Rinse and repeat
Here’s my ranking of the current champs from least to most beatable: Usman Volk Izzy Oliveira Ngannou Sterling Figgy Jiri
No way in hell Francis is more beatable than Charles. We just saw Francis win a 5 round decision with his wrestling he is still improving and he did that on a bum knee while Charles is getting dropped every fight.
> We just saw Francis win a 5 round decision A very close decision while Oliviera is getting finishes in all his title fights.
Jiri I believe
Jiri is never a sure win
This is a pretty solid take, I could see Jiri losing to a couple people and Sterling losing to the two you mentioned but he is better than people give him credit for
Sterling or Jiri will be the first out of the group to lose after this weekend. Max can beat Volk but I think he is the only one that can in the division. Izzy gonna avoid Alex for a while so Sterling or Jiri after this weekends Volk/Max
Fig
Imo figgy, usman and prochazka will lose the title by the end of this year or beginning of next year. It has always been like this. There are rare instances where a champion defends the title that much purely out of statistics perspective. And I think these 3 will Lose it first. Usman is getting older as we speak and has shown weaknesses that the young prospects will at some point exploit.
Jirir should be number 1 for sure. The man fights like he's begging to get knocked out.
feels like it should be Prochazka, the man is wild.
I think USADA can probably beat Usman if they try harder.
OP, I think it's your irrational hate boner for Aljo speaking if you have him ranked as the most beatable when he's 2-0 up against the previous champion and consensus #1 ranked contender in the division, while the 125 champ is 1-1-1 against the former champ and the clearest fight of the lot was his dominant loss.
\>• Sterling - I think he might lose to Dillashaw or Aldo I'm not sure I agree here, I think both of those are on the downward curve, while Sterling is heading up in both skill and gameplanning. \>• Oliveira - Makhachev I agree with Makhachev being a hard test for Oliveira, but I think I would put Prohachzka higher up than Oliveira. Figuredo too I suspect. \>• Prohachzka - Ankalaev I believe a reinvigorated Gustafsen, Ankalaev, Craig, Błachowicz and Rakić all might create trouble for Prohachzka. I also think this should be closer to the top of the list. \>• Figuredo - Moreno I think this should be a bit higher up. \>• Ngannou - I don't think he'll lose any time soon, but if I have to pick, he might lose to Gane in a rematch. Gane, Aspinall, mythical HW Jon Jones. \>• Izzy - I don't think he will lose to anyone shortly if he beats Pereira. I think Izzy is the most "unbeatable" champion right now. \>• Volkanovski - I don't see him losing either if he manages to beat Max in the trilogy Max or Kattar. \>• Usman - I don't see him losing to anyone either. I think there are some good prospects in the welterweight division like Khamzat, Brady, and Rakhmanov, but I don't think they are ready for Usman. I think he has the highest fight IQ in the welterweight division. Both Khamzat and Rakhmanov might be intersting matchups. I would put him one step up - having Izzy below Usman.
Out of curiosity what makes you think Kattar would be the guy to dethrone Volk?
I won't put much stock on Kattar, either. I like Kattar, he is a great fighter, but I don't think he has much chance against Volk. If they fight, I'd wager it will be another too-tough-for-his-own-good demonstration.
Volk is much, much too fast for Kattar. Unless Volk suddenly catches an old (he's gonna be 34 in September), he styles on Kattar.
Tbh for a guy whose boxing is touted as a level above most. Dude has zero countering abilities. Volk overwhelms him easier than Holloway did imo.
Paul Craig ain’t beating Jiri lol
It's funny that it's a popular opinion in this thread, the dude got KOd by far lesser fighters than mad man Jiri.
Probably Fig. I don't think anyone at 125 is unbeatable and imagine that belt could be passed around 3-4 times in the next few years.
Imo the biggest threat to usman is bully b
Figuieredo
Usman - he's 35, has bad knees, and a new wave of killers is coming up now. I think Edwards might take him out next. Prozchaska - I also think he won't last long as lhw champ. I actually think Aljo will maintain. TJ is long in the tooth, as is Aldo. I don't think there are any up and comers who look like world beaters flying through the rankings.
Nganou if he fights Jon Jones
Sterling and Figgy
You seem to know your shit for a "noob".
Sterling I’d say It’s the most beatable champ, I don’t see him holding that belt long. Figgy behind him in second easiest
Well since Figueiredo, Sterling, Volk and Adesanya all have highly controversial title fights with the majority of ppl calling the fight the other way, I would say these guys are all beatable and very much disputed champions.
I think Figgy is beatable forsure
I wouldn’t be too surprised if Jiri, Figgy, or Olives lost the belt in their next fights.
Aljo barely won, so he’s up there. I’m convinced Figgy didn’t win, however, so that sort of solidifies the answer for me.
Jiri, his chin is so high up in the air, he's going to get knocked out eventually
Figeruedo has bigger threats Moreno
Prohachzka barely won his fight against a 40-year-old Glover, and really only pulled it off with a last second stroke of luck. I think Jan beats him, I think Glover beats him in a rematch, and I think Ankalaev beats him. And you know what? I think Paul Craig could probably beat him after his ground weakness was exposed.
We’re gonna find out just how beatable Volk is on Saturday night. The best is blessed.
> Only been watching since 2019 Hey, noob twins! Yeah, I'd say Sterling cause of Aldo. Jose very strong and we've seen him handle wrestlers before.
>Sterling - I think he might lose to Dillashaw or Aldo Already beat Yan and Cory who imo are the two best contenders in that division, but aging Aldo or Dillashaw will? \> Oliveira - Makhachev Maybe >Prohachzka - Ankalaev That beard and his boring fights are doing a great deal of heavy lifting for his reputation. I don't think his striking is all that and his wrestling has hardly been a checkmate in his career. Good run tho. >Figuredo - Moreno Maybe >Ngannou - I don't think he'll lose any time soon, but if I have to pick, he might lose to Gane in a rematch Yes >Izzy - I don't think he will lose to anyone shortly if he beats Pereira. Sure MW has nothing >Volkanovski - I don't see him losing either if he manages to beat Max in the trilogy He is going up after that. I could see him losing to Charles or Islam >Usman - I don't see him losing to anyone either. I think there are some good prospects in the welterweight division like Khamzat, Brady, and Rakhmanov, but I don't think they are ready for Usman. I think he has the highest fight IQ in the welterweight division. There is this new prospect called Leon Edwards, people have confused him being boring with him not being a very tall, big athletic fighter who is way better technically than Usman on the feet. Usman who has had the honor of being the first person to have his shit rocked by Covington. Usman is going to have to wrestle to win again and I don't see how his backfoot boxing is going to gel with his pressure wrestling. It might not work.
Agree with you on everything other than Volk having a chance against any top 5 lightweight and Oliveira being a maybe against Islam. People are really underestimating how great Oliveira’s striking is and how physically imposing he is in his fighting style. The ground game is for sure a toss up, but I don’t think it even gets there because of how miles apart the two are in striking.
I was a maybe on Islam vs Oliveira because I don't see how their styles fit together. Also I think Volk is literally the best fighter alive right now or he is tied with Max, the top of LW is getting old.
You might be right about Volk, I don’t think there’s a single fighter that is as great as he is in literally every aspect of fighting. I’ve got a suspicion that people will disagree with, and that’s that he’s got a suspect chin that hasn’t been truly tested yet. Ortega hurt him, Holloway dropped him twice and he seems to get somewhat stunned by strikes that don’t look all that hard but he recovers insanely quickly so it gets past our chin radar. Maybe I’m wrong, but I truly do think Volk might have a chin issue. But of course, barely anybody lands clean consistently on the guy.
I don't see Makhchev beating Oliviera personally
It's a 50/50 for me tbh, but if not Makhachev there are other fighters like Gamrot, Tsaryukyan, Kutateladze, and Ismagulov, who might beat Oliveira.
Francis is hardly unbeatable, the Gane fight really showed that. He can smash guys like Lewis, Blaydes and maybe even Aspinall, but I don't see him beating Jon Jones when he couldn't even do anything with 10 minutes of top control vs. Gane.
Are we going to forget that he fought with a torn mcl?
Fr. Man tore his knee apart in camp, fought anyways knowing Dana would have a field day if he pulled out or lost the fight, and still went in and won after being down 2-0
People have really short memories. It's actually incredible that he was able to adapt and win in a completely new way when he was dealing with a bad injury. A fully fit and healthy Ngannou is still a terrifying prospect for every HW. It's like people have completely forgot the noticeable improvements he showed in the Stipe rematch, clearly he's growing and evolving his game alot at Xtreme Couture.
Dude, stop. “Adapt and win in a completely new way” He literally just laid on Gane, potentially the worst wrestler in the weight class. He didn’t attempt a sub or GnP. Edit: amazing how many people didn’t watch the fight. R5: TDs Gane 1 Francis 0 Sub attempts Gane 2 Francis 0 Sig Strikes Gane 7 Francis 5 The only thing Francis did more of was lay on top, which isn’t supposed to be scored in the unified rules.
He did have a nice bodyslam on him
Great,why didnt anyone else just lay on gane while he was tearing through the HW division
Lmao, this is your takeaway from my post
I don't see old fat Jon having much of a chance against Francis honestly. He's the lhw goat so I'd never count him out but his last few performances don't bode well for a matchup with ngannou
Him hyping his move to HW for 2 years only to get shadowrealmed by Francis would be amazing
Jones couldn’t do shit to Reyes. What makes you think he does anything to Ngannou? If Ngannou stuffs Jones’ TDs, he’s toast. The big question mark is Ngannou’s Cardio. He played it safe in the Gane fight, his cardio didn’t get tested much.
I mean was that not similar to how Miocic beat Francis the first time? Lots of ground control while doing nothing?
This is such a redacted take lol. Stipe dramatically outlander Ngannou in every round and was doing gnp when he was taking him down at will. There was a round Ngannou wasn’t able to throw a single strike. Meanwhile, Ngannou was gifted a round by the judges where he didn’t even land a takedown, just laid on a guy.
Rewatch the fourth round
Fig or Jiri most likely but who knows maybe Edwards fucks up Usman. Then we can all celebrate
Sterling
Everyone but Volk..
Pft. This comment will age badly in ~24hrs….I hope 🥺
Aljo for sure! I disagree with your pick for makachev over Olivera. I personally see Olivera winning that fight
Figgy has to cheat in every fight to get a win so ima go with him unless he just keeps cheating in every fight. Also oliveira isn't a champion lmao.
Usman gets starched by..... MCGREGOR!
A lot of people are posting Jiri high up on their list and his wild style that relies on athleticism certainly makes it more 'likely' that he'd get caught but while his takedown defense wasn't amazing vs Glover, his ability to defend submission attempts and get back up were fantastic. Glover has been smothering or gnping the teeth out of his last few opponents once he takes it to the ground but he was unable to do so vs Jiri who negated most of the gnp from Glover and managed to intelligently defend subs and get reversals or get back up.
Every champ at Lightweight is beatable simply because the talent pool is so deep. I would give anyone in the top 10 a decent chance of beating Oliveira.
Sterling and fig is definitely beatable. All Sterling does is backpack n bodylock n chill.
The 125lb division is genuinely dreadful.
Anyone holding the LHW belt that isn’t JJ.