UFC 278

eagle eye

Very surprised there's no thread for this. I think this is Usman's toughest test to date but I think he'll pass it.

Lot of strange fights tonight. Costa and Rockhold was very enjoyable. Some shocks as well.

Man Vs ManUre

That Costa Rickhold fight was one of the craziest I ever see. Did not like the way Rockhold rubbed his blood into Costa face near the end, Costa was very cool about it.

Man Vs ManUre

Very disappointing title fight. Edwards is just awful. Usman is a beast, time for Covington 3 next.

eagle eye

OMFG!!!!!!

The fight was over, Usman had won, we all thought.

Man Vs ManUre

Wow. Edwards is the champ!!

Man Vs ManUre

Conor next fight now we know, he gonna be Champ Cubed.

Edwards volleys Usman into the next dimension!

Usman isn't the only one that didn't see that coming.

eagle eye

It's gonna take me a while to really believe what just happened.

All hail Volkanovski, the p4p king.

Man Vs ManUre

Maybe Conor won’t fight against a Paradigm guy. But seems like it’s another Alverez type opportunity, a surprise/lucky champ there for the taking.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119500270#Comment_119500270

Conor? Ya wha?

Brussels Sprout

Gotta love MMA after results like that.

Hard to see anything but an Usman victory in the inevitable rematch though. Apart from the takedown in the first and the shocking finale it was all Usman. Anderson Silva must have enjoyed that result!

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119501855#Comment_119501855

Edwards will learn a lot from that. The commentators mentioned he wasn't aggressive enough which was true. The other thing was backing up into the fence which is Usman's kingdom.

When he met Usman away from the fence he had success with his striking.He won't be taken down away from the fence either. Usman tried it a bit away from the fence once and ended up being taken down by Edwards.

A rematch will be interesting. We know how good Usman is, we don't know how good Edwards can be.

Esse85

Edwards is so boring on the mic. Would like to see Coby get a shot at Leon.

Looked like one last pay day for Rockhold. He was knackered after round 1.

mailburner

Still in shock, only after watching it

Leon will no doubt call out Jorge like he said which would be ridiculous and conor will no doubt want it, as will usman, colby, khamzat

There'll be a queue a mile long tbh

Khamzat will get it surely, Usman might be most deserving but I doubt Dana will let him

back in again regardless

Love how the lads are saying don't sleep on Diaz....I guess it's their job to promote it but give me a break 🙄

biggest mismatch in a very long time

Gotta hand it to Luke, too long out of the octagon but I think he'd have taken Costa in his prime

rob316

Why the **** is Conor been mentioned in the same sentence as Edwards and Usman. He can't win at his own weight class what makes you think he could win at WW?

eagle eye

Conor will fight Poirier again and if he wins they'll fight again and they'll call it the rubber match even though it isn't.

Poirier is never winning a title from here on in, it's about padding his pension now and McGregor is money.

I thought Dana pretty much said there'd be a rematch in the UK?

Rjd2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119503021#Comment_119503021

Conor wants to fight for that belt supposedly and what he wants he often gets. It would be Edward's preferred next fight, as compared to the other suggestions its his easiest and most importantly from his POV its his most lucrative by some distance.

I do think its Usman rematch next however.

yourdeadwright

I said it in general MMA thread last Friday WW is pretty ordinary and there is no way in the world Usman is the GOAT of anything ,

Masvidal is a journey man, Burns a blown up lightweight,

The only world class fighter Usman had fought was Colby & he happens to have the same skill set,

No other world class wrestler & no world class striker in the top 5,

I don't think Usman is ever the same after a ko like that, i believe that'll be his chin checked now,

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119505760#Comment_119505760

Well I think those comments are ridiculous. Can you tell me who got close to Usman? He's dominated every fight, 13 in a row in the UFC. Look at the company he has on 13 consecutive win, GSP, Khabib, Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson and Max Holloway.

He dominated this fight too, just got caught very late on by a brutal kick. Unlucky is what I'd call him. He'll learn from that and come back even stronger.

I think Leon Edwards is a great fighter and second best in the division behind Usman.

I think Kamara gets his title back, makes one defense and then moves up to middleweight.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119506433#Comment_119506433

Usman is a good fighter go question about that at all ., all i said is he is not the GOAT

Do you think the WW is a strong division ? i don't but he is still the best in the division but that doenslt mean he should be talked as the GOAT

Usman has said multiple times he won't move to MW , he would never fight his buddy Izzy who is Champ so there is no point ,That why we keep hearing about him going to LHW

Also i personally i don't anyone ever comes back to be the same after a KO like that

MrStuffins

As I said on another thread, Usman isnt in the Top 5 GOAT conversation.

He's not even the best WW of all time

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119509704#Comment_119509704

Is this a 'right now' comment?

He certainly was, and rightfully so, in the conversation before Saturday. A win on Saturday would have put him ahead of all but Anderson Silva in consecutive wins.

A win last Saturday would have put him second to Anderson Silva in consecutive title defenses. He is equal third with GSP in that category.

That loss tarnished his record. He needs to get the title back and go on another long run of wins to get back in the conversation now.

Volkanovski is the p4p king now and in the GOAT conversation for sure.

MrStuffins

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119509775#Comment_119509775

Nope. My original comment on the other thread was before the fight on Saturday. Numbers are all well and good but without context they're incomplete. There are at least 5 people ahead of him when talking about the GOAT of the sport.

Volkanovski, like Usman, isn't the GOAT in his division either. He's not even in the Top 10 GOAT conversation.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119509972#Comment_119509972

So what do you have to do to get into the GOAT conversation?

I suppose you have Khabib up there even though he never moved up to his proper weight division to fight good wrestlers?

MrStuffins

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119509995#Comment_119509995

No, Khabib isn't the GOAT in my opinion.

In order to get into the GOAT conversation, firstly the conversation needs to be approached from an unbiased standpoint. Looking at someone's acheivements and trying your best not to try to be reductionist about fighters you don't like. If you can't do that, then your opinion on such things is useless.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119510019#Comment_119510019

I always look at things from the outside. Thing is that if a person is so dominant that nobody can get near him, that has to be taken into account. A guy whose an excellent striker and has excellent wrestling and ground game has to be seriously considered.

MrStuffins

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119510106#Comment_119510106

Not if there are 5 people ahead of him.

Usman is the best WW in the world today. I don't think there's any doubt about it. Sure, Edwards holds the belt, but i'd say that if they fought 100 times, Usman would win the vast majority of them.

But he's not the best Welterweight of all time. There's one man ahead of him. He can't be the GOAT of the sport if he's not even the GOAT of his division.

This GOAT stuff comes around for current fighters because Dana White wants to sell PPVs. He knows the main media outlets, generally ignorant to thinking any better, eat it up and before you know it lads on the internet are drinking the Kool Aid.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119510156#Comment_119510156

Well I don't think you can call anybody the GOAT until they retire unless they are so far out on their own that there's no doubt, like Amanda Nunes.

You need to analyse their full body of work to make that call. You can say they are in the conservation but that really means nothing.

For me Usman is in the conversation, I'd liken this loss to GSP losing to Matt Serra.

If he loses again then he's no longer in the conversation unless that loss is at middleweight and he'd have to win the title there first.

MrStuffins

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119511093#Comment_119511093

You argue with yourdeadwright above when he says Usman isn't the GOAT.

Then you say you can't decide on the GOAT until they retire.

And then say Usman is in the GOAT conversation, despite not being retired.............. 🤔

yourdeadwright

Jon Jones is the GOAT personally i don't think its even close, but i understand Anderson & GSP in the debate ,

If he wins the HW belt it won't even be a conversation

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119511143#Comment_119511143

Did you miss the bit where I said a current fighter can be in the GOAT conversation?