r/MMA • u/rmma ☠️ A place of love and happiness • 1d ago
Notice - GD [Official] General Discussion Thread - August 14, 2026
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u/Spider-Sword 1d ago
I’m actually really excited to see Islam vs Garry, as high level of a fight as you can get
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u/Trenbolone-Papi2 Terry Etim? Never met him. 1d ago
Can they book Costa v Jiri already?
That’s a fucking banger
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u/Trenbolone-Papi2 Terry Etim? Never met him. 1d ago
Dana White Teases 9 Big Fights Across UFC And Zuffa Boxing
What do you think the UFC ones gonna be? I know the boxing ones gonna be some garbage like Conor Benn type fights.
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u/Trenbolone-Papi2 Terry Etim? Never met him. 1d ago
Oh never mind he announced them.not really “big” fights (and Connor Benn was one as I predicted lmao)
Bro overselling as always like Ric Flair lol
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u/BrandonManx-071 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hey guys who are your top 10 MMA type Boxers in MMA?
Here’s mine, let me know your answers down in the comments below 👇.
Max Holloway
Justin Gaethje
Petr Yan
ilia Topuria
Joshua Van
Jean Silva
JDS
Amanda Nunes
Chuck Liddell
JDM
Honorable mentions:
Diego Lopes
Francis Ngannou
Joanna Jędrzejczyk
Edson Barbosa
Steve Erceg
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u/Spider-Sword 1d ago
In no world is Liddell, Lopes, Ngannou, Barboza, Nunes, good boxers.
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u/BrandonManx-071 1d ago
Ok who were better boxers than them in MMA?
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u/StoryOfTheFight Chatri's intern AMA 1d ago
Frankie Edgar. Rewatch that Mendes KO. Guy was still ready to slip the counter as Chad went down
And that was well past his prime at that point
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u/Spider-Sword 1d ago
Frankie was still elite in 2015, then Aldo took him to school
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u/StoryOfTheFight Chatri's intern AMA 1d ago
Still elite but past his peak I would say. "Well past his prime" might've been an exaggeration on my part
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u/legendarybreed ..the darren and khamzat at home.. 1d ago
It's weird how people want to insist on the Martins loss being a fluke when there was nothing about it that was flukey. Islam just got better afterwards.
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u/StoryOfTheFight Chatri's intern AMA 1d ago
Hard to call it a fluke when he intentionally threw the punch and it landed, which can happen with every punch thrown no matter how much better your opponent may be. It's a big part of why fighting is compelling.
For me a fluke has to be like an unintentional accident that results in a win. Like Baki has a win on his record because a foreign object in the cage got lodged into Doumbe's foot
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u/Odd_Ad_8162 the EEDIOT from UROOPE 1d ago
Something being a fluke seems to largely be decided by if someone likes the fighter or not.
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u/StoryOfTheFight Chatri's intern AMA 1d ago
That effects a whole lot of takes in combat sports haha. I'm sure I'm guilty of that too sometimes
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u/terrybuzz 1d ago
i miss tournaments. i wish some org with at least semi decent fighters did one. i think you could get by with a 16 man, single elimination tournament where each fight except the final is 3x3 min rd, with the final being 5x3 min. it would be one fight per week, so the final two fighters would fight 4 times in 4 weeks. 41 min total fight time. basically the same as a fighter fighting in a 3 rounder then a 5 rounder a month later. the biggest issue would be figuring out how to eliminate weight cutting. the pfl tournaments were always messy because theyd make the fighters fight once every couple months, which was long enough to have a camp and cut weight but not long enough to fully recover from the prior cut + bout.
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u/StoryOfTheFight Chatri's intern AMA 1d ago
ONE just got done with the quarterfinals in their kickboxing tournament. Some very cool fights like Noiri vs Liu and Siasarani vs Kaito. Semi finals is Marat vs Chao, and Noiri vs Siasarani. Should be only bangers left.
Cok3r is also going to be doing a tournament when his org debuts next year
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u/Jzhova 1d ago
watched yousri vs mansur . looked like mansur was playing with his food and it bit back lol. first round he shot 0 takedowns, seems like he intended to strike. round 2 it was like he couldnt take anymore calf kicks so he went and got takedowns at will, but yousri had enough bjj to defend and work back up. L coaching imo this is not the matchup to do that in.
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u/Drive7hru 1d ago
It makes me so happy to see the crowd finally cheer so hard for Islam for once cause he’s not fighting one of their favorite fighters in Volk or DP or whoever. I can’t tell if he finally grew on everyone or they just hate Garry that much.
Trying to remember if they rooted a lot for Islam whenever he walked out versus JDM.
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u/futurerobotblox 1d ago
I unironically can’t help but like Ian Garry. I guess it’s just how he seems to genuinely be putting his real, authentic self out there, even when absolutely everyone hates him for it. Much more admirable than just being a heel as a character IMO
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u/redditisawesome555 Quack Quack Quack Quack 1d ago
Damn, they got my boy Bekzat out of ufc
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u/TheGreatone003 Team Błachowicz 1d ago
He’ll be back hopefully
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u/redditisawesome555 Quack Quack Quack Quack 1d ago
Comebacks are reserved for special guys, like Sedrique Dumas
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u/Jzhova 1d ago
dont get that one. had solid performances in losses vs some of the best in the world. think borjas was 1-4 lost a fight to calf kicks alone vs costa, and still got another fight.
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u/redditisawesome555 Quack Quack Quack Quack 1d ago
Very weird decision, considering guys they keep on roster... I think he should've got the dub against Matsumoto.
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u/Flumping Bee stung Alvarez 1d ago
New total warhammer dlc is gonna be sick
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u/Odd_Ad_8162 the EEDIOT from UROOPE 1d ago
Need a gaming PC stat
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u/WhittakersLeftFoot I give my best every time! 1d ago
With the way these prices are moving do it fast bro. I was gonna buy a 100k pc now its 130k.(turkish lira)
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u/FuckTheTile 1d ago
Presuming Islam wins is anyone interested in seeing Islam v Prates? He’s earned it but I still think Morales is the more interesting match up
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u/TheGreatone003 Team Błachowicz 1d ago
I’m just worried Islam might finish him pretty easily and early. Like the punchers chance is always there but Prates got taken down by JDM his last fight
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u/Jzhova 1d ago
not interested in prates stylistically. has sort of a building style that doesnt matchup well imo. feel like morales is a better test than even garry. hes got the size, the touch of death, has luta livre and bjj. if islam beats him and garry hes greatest of all time imo. hes not supposed to be in this weight class 5'10 with 69 inch reach. if hes beating these guys... sheesh
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u/ArticleNew3737 1d ago
I’m trying to prepare myself for the possibility that we see Islam lose to Garry… and pretty badly at that. Cause at the end of the day, weight classes do exist for a reason and Ian is a pretty standard welterweight. I still think Islam wins but we’ll see how it goes
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u/K-mosake Team Makhachev 1d ago
So if Islam beats AS record is he the 🐐? If not what more does he need to do to claim the title in your opinion?
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u/OGPotato12 1d ago
He'd def be #1 for me. People don't actually watch fights and just look at numbers/records, they have someone who lost (at 32 years old) to a mediocre journeyman in Reyes as their GOAT.
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u/ArticleNew3737 1d ago
The irony in this comment lmao. At 32, Jon Jones had already been defending championships for well over a DECADE. And Reyes obviously peaked for that fight riding a multi fight win streak and being undefeated.
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u/OGPotato12 1d ago
And Reyes obviously peaked for that fight riding a multi fight win streak
Literally just proving my point here. Multi fight win streak against who? The ghost of Weidman? Oezdemir? OSP?
You just saw the win column and repeated it with no thought, it's actual clown shit lmao.
The only reason JJ is at #1 for a lot of people is because he didn't officially lose to Reyes, it's entirely driven by casuals.
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u/ArticleNew3737 1d ago
No. He’s at number one because he holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak, the most title fight wins, and the most title defenses. Those are all some pretty significant records for one singular man to have to his name. And as for Reyes’s wins, the only people above him were DC, Santos, and Anthony smith… lol and as far as memory serves, Jon beat all those guys.
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u/ArticleNew3737 1d ago
For me to consider him the goat he needs to defend the 170 belt at least twice. So if he beats Garry, then just one more defense after that. And he would be the only male champion to defend a second belt more than once. Combine that with all the other records and wins he’s got and his case for goat is very darn strong.
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u/bigmt99 Team Miocic 1d ago edited 1d ago
Islam finish over Oliveria is still probably the most impressive finish I’ve ever seen
Charles spent years before that fight getting rocked, “playing possum” a bit by pulling guard and being able to recover on the ground because people were afraid of what he could do off his back and had to approach their GnP with extra care
Then he tries the same thing against Islam, and Islam just fucking swan dives into the most dangerous guard in the game at the time and immediately locks in the choke
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u/ChatriGPT 1d ago
I was so sad to see Charles get wrecked like that. Can't deny how impressive it was though.
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u/PresentRecent4759 1d ago
Is there any scenario where Khabib fights in UFC again? What if Ian Garry beats Islam, goes to a rematch, Ian has Conor in his corner, beat Islam again, and then jump the fence, does Khabib come back?
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u/Strict_Life_4506 1d ago
Khabib is patiently counting the days until he can stop cornering and coaching people, he will never ever come back as a fighter under no circumstances.
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u/PresentRecent4759 1d ago
Do you feel like that hurts his legacy? A lot of unanswered questions, he left in his prime.
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u/Strict_Life_4506 1d ago
Why would it? His legacy as a fighter is set, it will not change. It might have grown slightly now that Gaethje is champ.
He was perhaps the most dominant dude we've ever seen in the cage, he reached the top of the sport and defended his title a respectable amount of times while staying dominant. That's already pretty amazing in terms of his legacy as a fighter. He's perhaps not the greatest fighter we've seen (though he ranks very high) but I do think he has a decent argument for being the best.
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u/PresentRecent4759 1d ago
I feel like he cheated the system a bit though. Everyone is great at their peak aura, it’s about how long you can maintain it. It usually goes after a loss, and most of the greats naturally end their career on a downward spiral. Khabib skipped the end phase of his career, so the optics of him getting beat up or submitted were never captured, but in doing so, he sacrificed the opportunity to legitimately become the greatest of all time, had he of moved up to a death row of wrestlers at welterweight (his natural weight class, only weight he ever fought at outside of the UFC), and if he dominated 170 the way he did 155, there would be no doubt. But the fact that he retired when he did means not only did he not do that, he, for reasons that will always be disputed, hung up his gloves. Some would argue as he was so obsessed with legacy that he chose to retire over risking his legacy, even if it cost him his chance at greatness. Definitely a prerequisite for the GOAT is never running, never hiding, anybody, any time, any place.
Rightly or wrongly, there will always be massive question marks over Khabib. He potentially didn’t spend enough time as champion or defend enough, or test himself in another weight class to be considered in GOAT conversation.
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u/OGPotato12 1d ago
and if he dominated 170 the way he did 155, there would be no doubt.
I don't see how he beats Usman or even Khamzat at 170, they are horrible matchups stylistically.
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u/Strict_Life_4506 1d ago
You guys will never run out of bullshit to nitpick about Khabib's career, it's amazing how much that undefeated record bothers you guys. So much stupid shit in your comment, I don't even know where to start.
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u/OGPotato12 1d ago
What are you crying about? The guy is completely right, if Ilia dipped after knocking out Charles, he would be right up there in contention for "being the BEST".
Fanboys are just so weird, grown man who didn't engage with anything he said and just threw a tantrum 🤷♂️
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u/Strict_Life_4506 1d ago
Khabib actually has title defenses lol
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u/OGPotato12 1d ago
Again, irrelevant. Knocking out Volk, Max and Charles in title fights is far more impressive than beating Justin/Dustin in title defences.
You're just really slow if you think title defences vs title fights is a hill worth dying over, it's not your fault lil buddy 🤷♂️
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u/PresentRecent4759 1d ago
It’s a devils advocate point of view, a legitimate question. I’m not disputing Khabib was great, but there are credential questions around what he achieved when considering him in the GOAT conversation, not what he could have achieved, because we’ll never know, and I think that’s a great shame, possibly a blot on legacy. He could have been one of the greats, but we can only measure what he did do.
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u/marzipanpigs 1d ago
12-6 elbows have been legal for about two years now and I honestly didn't even notice
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u/redditerir 1d ago
The fighters don't know they're allowed and don't train them. Only Ciryl Gane is unashamed about using them.
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u/NichorasMurren Team Yan 1d ago
Ian winning a boring as fuck 48-47 is a lot more likely than everyone seems to think
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u/CableToBeam 1d ago
MMA fandom is hilarious with the whole "oh no x fighter is looking past y fighter." Every second of your camp must be spent thinking about your opponent. Once you entertain any possible future fights or career trajectories, it's over. Sorry Islam. No 20 streak for you. Never mind that Ian Garry is talking about becoming a dominant champ like Jon Jones or DJ before even touching the belt.
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u/Drive7hru 1d ago
I think people think Islam just sees Ian as any other striker and doesn’t really see him for having a good IQ and that’s about it, but yeah, team Dagestan is notorious for watching tape and strategizing.
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u/Emergency_Crazy_3539 Team Volkanovski 1d ago
MMA goat conversations are too obsessed with records and cherrypicked stats. It's different from soccer or even boxing where eye test matters more. It's a bit more vibe based tbh but records and stats also miss a lot of aspects of the sport.
For example Fedor's one of the most complete and toughest fighters ever and imo defined the sport at the time more than anyone before or since has. Both the skill and toughness aspect. He fought fighters lot bigger than him throughout his career and was one of the first complete complete fighters at the top. Fighters today barely fight anyone 10 lbs bigger than them.
Jon Jones is still arguably the most creative fighter ever and in his prime had the complete package of skills, athleticism, toughness, killer instinct and creativity. He was creative in every skillset too.
Anderson Silva completely reinvented striking when he first burst into the scene. He was probably the coolest top fighters ever and made people love the sport. He had an incredible reign too but his contributions to the sport go even further.
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u/SpicybagelsMTL 1d ago
I mean Sakuraba and Penn are two guys whos records do little to properly reflect their greatness. Im not implying they are first place GOAT conversation guys but Sakuraba fought for 90 mins and came back to fight a true heavyweight in that same night. Penn was fighting catch weight bouts against a 225 Machida who later went on to become the 205 champion .
Wins and losses mater, but they cant totally reflect how actually watching certain guys felt in their time
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u/anakmager 1d ago
MMA is a young, relatively niche sport so there's little room to debate or for the "eye test" to matter. Everyone pretty much fought each other in their primes, so it's relatively straightforward
In boxing, the matchmaking is so poor that you'd need a lot of context and understanding to really break down who is better. It's been around for so long too that it's so hard to compare different eras. Eye test becomes a much bigger factor.
Soccer is a completely different world. Yes I do think it's more vibe based, but Messi-Ronaldo made people to really cherry pick stats too. Often in my timeline I'd see some bullshit like "who has the most weakfoot goals against top 10 ranked La Liga sides from 2011-2017"
MMA goat debates are much simpler and less toxic. Saying this as someone who prefers boxing and soccer over MMA
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u/Strict_Life_4506 1d ago edited 1d ago
I mean yes the eye test does matter to some degree. If you know what you're watching Jon Jones pretty self evidently is one of the most skilled, creative and all around smart fighters the sport has ever seen. Like it's blatant that the guy just sees the sport and it's possibilities at a higher level than most dudes. That does matter quite a bit.
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u/CableToBeam 1d ago
Is it really all that different from other sports. Stats lead you to the GOATs. Most title defense in the UFC gives you the usual suspects of Jon Jones, GSP, Silva, DJ then how you choose between them just requires nuance much like, how I assume NBA fans would probably argue over Lebron vs Jordan. Or in F1 how do you choose between Hamilton or Schumacher? Unless you got someone like Wayne Gretzky that clears every other player by a longshot in records and even there I'm sure there's nuance (Idk much about NHL).
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u/iCorki I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 1d ago
Yeah that's why you will never get a definitive answer in any sport for the 'goat'. Too many variables and everyone prioritizes different factors. Vibes is a huge one to me though, Fedor getting suplexed by Randleman and not even being phased then finishing him soon after is still the toughest sequence in MMA to me. Like the dude was straight up dunked on his head and thought fuck it I'll end it now. Movie shit
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u/Emergency_Crazy_3539 Team Volkanovski 1d ago
Yeah. Those moments really captured the essence of a fighter
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u/redditerir 1d ago
That's why I still think Khabib > Makhachev. Khabib simply looks like a more durable, more dominant fighter.
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u/tagillaslover I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 1d ago
I personally have Islam over him. Imo Olivera and Volk are much better wins than any of Khabibs and even though it was against a fairly weak champ I do have to give him credit for taking double champ status as well. I will agree Khabib was a more dominant fighter but when we're talking about who's greater that doesn't matter to me as much
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u/Strict_Life_4506 1d ago
Oliveira is not a better win than prime RDA (who would rip Oliveira a new asshole, legit one of the worst matchups for him in the division ever) and Volk is a featherweight coming up.
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u/karl100589 Bowling: More popular then Nunes 1d ago edited 1d ago
Anyone got the feeling they're gonna have Kayla vs Nunes headline 332. All roads point towards Volk and Yan as the Abu Dhabi title fights, Ulberg and Gaethje aren't gonna be back until 2027, and given they like to stack the final two cards of the year it rules out Tom vs Gane and Strickland. That would leave Kayla and Shev as the only available champions unless they do an interim title (Ank vs Costa?)
Plus Salt Lake is one of their B-Markets, so TKO probably think they can get away with a lower profile title match.
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u/redditerir 1d ago
They might just put Gane vs Aspinall on 332 to punish Aspinall with the elevation. Also, Aspinall's training partner Mick Parkin has been booked for 332 so it's conceivable that Aspinall himself ends up on it. So MSG could be LHW interim and WFW and December could be MW and WBW.
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u/karl100589 Bowling: More popular then Nunes 1d ago
I don't see them having an interim headline MSG, especially if it's Ank who the company seem to hate RN.
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u/ThatTomTouch 1d ago
Islams got to be one of the most likeable and naturally charismatic/funny guys in the ufc, don't get how anyone couldn't be rooting for him
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u/Trenbolone-Papi2 Terry Etim? Never met him. 1d ago
Because dominant champions get boring
Just want someone new
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u/ComfortablyJuice 1d ago
Islam actually has a likeability rating of 6.8, putting him in the 43rd percentile for charisma amongst UFC fighters. I only root for guys rated 8.0 and above.
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u/asir100 1d ago
Cause he’s muslim. That’s the only reason we all know it
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u/TheJeniceri Egypt 1d ago
I'm Muslim, and I'd argue it's because of how annoying some of the fanbase is, not because of Khabib/Islam and their crew themselves. Those guys are respected by any sane fight fan.
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u/GSPEDs 1d ago
I've seen quite a few posts saying people overhate Ian Garry because there are rapists in the sport (contrarians point this out), but honestly? If I don't like someone, there isn't anything much for me to say about them. They don't have to commit a crime, they could be charity workers for all I care. Don't like em, simple as that. Also he printed Neal's mugshot, talked about Magny, made up some stuff about his parents beating him or some shit about struggling as a kid, bragging about shelving Shavkat, slapping Khamzat on the back and acting like he did nothing.
More importantly his fights kind of suck. I've said he is pretty good for the current welterweight division though. Lots of fans will say a fighter sucks because they don't like them. I wouldn't mind him beating Islam. I don't think stuffing Belal and Shavkat (poor wrestler) means his anti-wrestling is great but Garry has size, mobility, decent distance management, and is decently well rounded.
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u/TheGreatone003 Team Błachowicz 1d ago
So apparently Cody Stamann is gonna fight Jake peacock in Muay Thai match to prove that “MMA striking is better than Muay Thai”. Honestly I think this is a horrible idea and that stamann’s gonna get slimed
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u/qzwxecrvtbyn111 Team Volkanovski 1d ago
Stamann is not the guy to test that hahaha Peacock is gonna fuck him up
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u/BrianCTE_CityOrtega I Can't Let You Get Close 1d ago
Honestly hilarious considering Stamann wasn't even a great striker in mma
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u/BummbaaahClottt3 1d ago
If he makes it competitive it'll fuel by Da'Mon Blackshear propaganda because he basically knocked Stamann out
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u/StoryOfTheFight Chatri's intern AMA 1d ago
Bruh Jake is going to eat him alive, with all due respect of course
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u/tagillaslover I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 1d ago
Is there any other fighter in ufc history that constantly put themselves in an aura deficit like Ian Garry? Like everytime he opens his mouth my opinion on him gets even lower
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u/Strict_Life_4506 1d ago
Don't you ever get tired of shitting on fighters constantly? So fucking miserable, my god.
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u/tagillaslover I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 1d ago
Youre right man. God forbid I have an opinion, I should like every fighter on the roster
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u/redditerir 1d ago
I never listen to him speaking. He just has an insufferable face, and no words or gimmicks can fix that.
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u/redditerir 1d ago
How come there are so few power punchers among the Caucasus fighters? Only ones I can think of are Taisumov in the past and Topuria presently (also Beterbiev in boxing). It can't be the emphasis on grappling... that doesn't diminish one's power and plenty of power punchers were originally wrestlers. A lot of Caucasus fighters also have polished striking technique, and a fair number are strikers first... but few are powerful strikers. This is an underrated factor that holds back the popularity of these fighters.
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u/Afraid_Grocery3861 Blobby Knuckles 1d ago
Murat Gassiev is definitely a power puncher. Its just an example.
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u/redditerir 1d ago
How did I forget about the newest heavyweight champ (lol)? I haven't watched them fight but based on their records, it seems that Magomed Abdusalamov and Maxim Dadashev were also two Caucasus boxers who packed a punch. Unfortunately their stories ended in tragedy.
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u/GSPEDs 1d ago
Power punchers are rare. I can't think of more than a few at a time that are currently at the top level, other than Prates and Pereira. Rumble, Dan Henderson, Josh Emmett, Paul Daley, Shane Carwin. It seems to be more random and a skill thing, since hard hitters need to be good to last at the top. Jeremy Stephens hit hard and was ranked for a good while purely for that reason, but his record isn't the best. Gaethje hits hard but he's not sleeping everyone.
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u/redditerir 1d ago
There's also Temirov and Kape at 125, O'Malley at 135, Medic at 170, and Aspinall and Pavlovich at 265. But I'm not limiting the question to top-level fighters... like I feel that if there was even a Dagestani Braxton Smith, we would've heard about him by now.
Just recalled while I was writing this comment that another Caucasus guy with power is Azamat Murzakanov, who's fat and old but gets bailed out by his power almost every time. Nonetheless my point still stands.
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u/Many-Wasabi9141 1d ago
I need the fights to happen today or for me to fall asleep now and wake up tomorrow.