Watched the last 6 fights and have to say that Khahib is an absolute beast. I've never seen anyone hold a guy in that position while landing shots from a half guard. His crucifix to North South position with his legs was just awesome. The greatest wrestler of all time in the UFC. Once he gets a hold of anyone they are going down.

Him vs. Connor will come down to their respective strengths. If Khahib can duck the left/block it and get his hands on Conor then he will win within 2 minutes maximum. The TD is guaranteed and the following sub/beatdown until Conor quits/ ref stops is guaranteed. The big left might or might not KO him the 1st time... so perhaps Khahib gets multiple chances... perhaps the round is about to end when Khahib grabs him and Connor escapes death.

Yoel is an absolute beast. His stamina looked better than ever in a tough 1st round and once he got a hold of Weidman it was a rag dolling. The bell saved Weidman because Romero is just a beast with ridiculous strength/power on the ground. The ko was awesome.

I see Conor having real problems with Ferguson and Khabib. Not saying he can't win but they will be the real fights he should be taking to at least prove he's up there with the best.

Totally agree with this. But Khahib due to styles is the tougher fight as Fergusson might try to box with him as that's usually how he wins as well.

Do you bet on boxing too? I'm much bigger into MMA, but I enjoy some boxing wagering action as well. Once in a while I post plays here, as the boxing thread on this forum doesn't really get much action.

Conor vs Khabib will be the best pure striker vs the best pure grappler at LW, would be a fantastic clash of styles and I can't wait to see it. I'm a fan of both fighters, for the UFC's sake it's better if Conor wins as mass buys = more eyes on all of the other fighters on the cards he fights on which is good for the long term health of MMA

Conor vs Ferguson is more likely to be a FOTN war, but I also think it's a better matchup for Conor, Ferguson has a deadly d'arce and better striking than Khabib but his striking isn't as good as Conor's and i'm not sure his offensive wrestling is good enough to get Conor to the mat unless he hurts him with strikes. I think Conor would likely rock and finish Ferguson on the feet - Khabib is another story, if Khabib can walk through a shot or two Conor is getting ragdolled and submitted, but if Conor rocks him with a big left before he can get ahold of him he could get KO'd as well.

I think Khabib is the toughest matchup for Conor at 145 or 155.

I hope Conor gives up the 145 belt so we can see Aldo vs Pettis or more likely Holloway and Conor can focus on defending against Ferguson, Khabib, etc. and who knows if he wants to he can even fight the LW champ after Woodley/Wonderboy have rematched and the winner has faced Maia.

If I had to pick a winner I think Conor beats Ferguson and Khabib is a lot tougher to call. I'd lean Khabib but it's very hard to pick against Conor.

Re: boxing i've tried watching it and can enjoy a good fight but I feel like MMA is just the more complete sport as boxing is only part of a fight. Even kickboxing feels more 'real' so to speak, watching boxing it sort of feels like you're not actually watching a fight since so many weapons are taken away. I did enjoy the hybrid kickboxing/mma card that Bellator put on.

Ferguson got a way better chin than Khabib. Ferguson has also got a 2 inch reach adv. Just some things to take into consideration.

If I'm Conor I take both Bisping and Woodley and then retire with 4 belts!

I really think he destroys Bisping, even if he weighs 170ish vs Bispings 185.
Obviously Woodley much more dangerous but I think Conor's power will do fine at heavier weight classes. Woodley has a weak chin.

I really think Conor could pull this off! He's being becoming a ninja counter striker and proving difficult to hit. I think he beats Wonderboy too, as Conor got a decent chin as well and Wonderboy has not got that KO power, unless it's a kick. Am I crazy for stating he can beat these guys in heavier classes?

^^ yes you are really over hyping McGregor here... You are talking about middleweight division now..
Check your privilege lol but anyways I say we keep it to his actual weight class

Ferguson gets hit a lot boys and has been rocked plenty of times... I think McGregor can run over t ferg... Khabib is obv a nightmare and it's a pick em imo with McGregor... Just that left hand is magic man... Haven't really seen anything like it since Anderson in his prime... I'm sure there is some old school fans that can attest to that..

McGregor sounds like he will be out for a bit... I would like to see Khabib vs T Ferg fight for the shot and ya just vacate 145... If McGregor is to choose he will choose Ferguson I would say and acco sing to kavanagh sounds like he thinks Diaz 3 is the fight to make

Bisping is a step too far, I mean in theory Conor could bulk up to be a small WW and be somewhat live to win a stick and move decision against Woodley but I assume he'd just get bullrushed and unless he can land a one shot KO he's getting GnP'd in the first. Woodley is HUGE compared to Conor and there would be an immense strength difference, and if Wonderboy wins the belt Conor is just too small to outstrike a striker that good with such a huge size advantage. If Conor and Wonderboy were the same size I would LOVE to see that fight though.

185 is just a step too far, Bisping used to fight at LHW

Bisping would only have a small reach advantage but the body size is just not even close to similar, I mean Pat Barry is Conor's height but anyone thinking they're anywhere close to the same size or strength would be kidding themselves, weight classes exist for a reason and while 170 is possible for Conor, 185 is just a step too far unless he takes a few years off to eat horse meat and lift weights and he wouldn't retain his speed if he added that much bulk. By the time Conor got to 185 he's likely to be fighting someone like Yoel Romero or Jacare or Rockhold. They're all just too big for him.

Let him defend 2-3x at LW and either give up the FW belt and he can challenge for the WW title in a year or two or he can stay at FW/LW as long as he wants as long as he's defending both belts twice a year and fighting 4x a year at a minimum. He has to stay very active if he wants to keep two belts though, if not he has to pick one (and we all know it'll be LW if he does as LW is his natural weight class)

jesus christ.

SuperMario7 you are crazy. Thanks for the laugh this morning

I got almost no interest in see him vs Aldo, would love too see him vs Ferguson/Khabib/Holloway, but he most likely gonna face Nate tho

I think the only way we see him @170 again is if he fight Cerrone, the other guys are just too big

Connor/Khabib any idea of possible opening odds?

Nate would be the easiest fight, and is the one I reckon we will see. Then Ferguson will get to face Khabib and face the winner of Conor / Nate. Not because Nate deserves it more than Khabib / Ferguson, but because I think that's who Conors camp will be aiming for. More money, easier fight.

Also, Conor going up to 170 and facing the best WW? Yeah, I think he learnt his lesson vs a small 170 in Nate and will not go there again unless the champ is someone he matches up well with him stylistically: a standup fighter with equal or smaller reach than Conor, average cardio and average takedowns.

185 is just laughable, everyone would be able to muscle him so easily. I mean, Wonderboy talked about how Weidman toys with him in training due to his strength, imagine then Conor...

I'd assume something like -110 both sides, but no idea. I expect Conor would open in the -150 to -180 range vs Ferguson and something like -150 vs Nate

I actually think Ferguson might be the best matchup of the three of them for him but it's close. Khabib is definitely the worst - he might drop and finish Khabib in the first minute, but he's definitely the toughest wrestling test that Conor has faced and Mendes got him down on short notice before gassing and getting finished. That said, I think Conor's improved since then, but Khabib is also a bigger fighter and better wrestler than Mendes. Could go either way.

It's inevitable he fights Cerrone eventually as well regardless of whether that's at 155 or 170, unless Cerrone wins the 170 belt somehow (he won't) and Conor stays at 145/155 for the rest of his career. I expect he'll have 155 as his main weight class at this stage though.

i put 10 units on ishihara vs lobov, lobov is a really terrible fighter with no reach whatsoever, should be quite easy for ishihara.

I tend to think Avila may be the only fighter on the roster Artem can beat other than various latin america/asia TUF rejects. Don't know enough about Ishihara yet i'll watch some of his fights and consider it though for sure.

So far on upcoming cards i'm tempted by Holloway, might play a specific prop for Cormier wins by submission in r2 if the price is solid (or maybe even sub r1 as well) and/or Rumble wins by r1 TKO if it's decent. Might also take the under 3.5 rounds or something for the fight, Rumble is a mental quitter so if Cormier is dominating him he'll find the finish and Rumble can end him in r1 or early r2, and will fade and get choked out or GnP'd at some point if he can't land the big punch that puts Cormier out.

Lil'Nog is pretty tempting at +290, he has a decent punchers chance against Bader who has proven to be chinny in the past plus he's live on the ground as well to some degree. Bader deserves to be a decent fav but I think more like -200.

Uriah Hall is kinda tempting at +450, Mousasi is better everywhere except KO power, but I think Hall lands something special the 1 in 5 times necessary, he won the first fight against the flow of the fight and could do it again even though I expect Mousasi to avenge his loss the price is pretty tempting.

Warrley Alves is legit but Kamaru Usman has more potential than most recent TUF winners and I think he's the better prospect. Excited for the fight I think Usman could easily become top 10 and may already be top 15ish.

I see no chance at all for Corney Casey beyond a fluke sub, Gadelha at -418 is probably value, I don't think Casey wins more than 1 in 10 fights despite lolwmma, Gadelha has shown herself to be on Joanna's level and after going 8 rounds with the champ and arguably winning 4 of them and at least 3, no one else at WSW is going to knock her out and she'll have top position if it goes to the ground.

I have 2u on Cruz at 207 and already regret not making it 5u+ given I got -188, I still expect Cruz to close at -300 and should add more while it's still in the -210 range. I think Cruz wins something like 4/5 times against Cody, he just needs to fade the punchers chance and he's better everywhere. I may actually play Cruz ITD for this one, I think the price will be decent and he could finish Cody late or get a sub at any point if he takes his back. I'll probably wait for the -5.5 points line to open and take some if it's -140 or better, I expect the fight to be 49-46 or 50-45 Cruz most of the time when he doesn't finish, i'd be surprised if Cody wins any rounds other than round 1 if he can land some shots early and if I had to pick Cruz wins all rounds at evens or the other side i'd probably take Cruz to win every round.

I really really like Holloway

Love the analysis Swoop. Every card it's incredible

What are your thoughts on Benevidez and Cejudo?

Yeah so far he's the one standing out for 206. Pettis 3 years ago may have been better than him, but Holloway's on the way up and Pettis is on the way down imo and that matters a lot. I don't know if Pettis is better at anything anymore.

not mma but huge event in ward vs kovalev (Boxing).

Both fighters are tremendous.

Any one bridge jumping on either fighter?

Khahib talking about all sorts of UFC shenanigans prior to last Saturday. Saying the UFC gave him a fake title shot contract instead of Connor as a way to make Alvarez fight Connor for garbage pay or be faced with fighting Khahib. Using a 3rd fighter for leverage against the champ is pretty gross.

Khahib also stated that Connor will duck him and pick Fergusson/Diaz to not face him. I have to really believe Connor wants no part of him and to be honest with good reason as he only has a 1 punch chance.

Going with the boxer > puncher theory. Probably goes to a Ward decision, but with a close line I'm playing Ward straight:

Andre Ward (-130) vs Sergey Kovalev $390.00 for $300.00

Lol at Kavanagh stating Diax is the toughest opponent and thinks he deserves the title shot. What a ****ing bum, a disgrace to martial arts, imo!

Just say you are scared ****less and want the easy fight again, ffs!

Conor looking more and more like Runwheather, I really hope he does not turn out like DuckWheather!

That act I fight anyone anywhere, is a total fabrication. He will duck Khabib, mark my words!
He planted the seed already folks, telling us that Khabib should fight more blah blah. Show us you fight anyone, bum!

Hahaha, glad you got a good laugh but I'm serious actually. Who don't you think he Conor can't beat? Bisping lol, or Woodley?

While all that is true, I completely disagree with the weight classes excuse. Their have been a ton of mismatches in MMA. Prior to UFC over in Japan, they did it all the time and some smaller guys owned guys weighing much heavier. I remember Manhoef Ko'ing Mark Hunt with 1 punch. Hunt prob had like 50 pounds on him.

I did not say that Conor should stay at that weight class. He should just fight Bisping only, I think he beats him. Vs the other middle weights, well that's a different ball game.

Also I think he can beat those WW, they all have leaks. He'd beat Woodley imo. One counter and Woodley's down!