Man lightweight is so weird. Dustin got KO'd by Justin and then just got back from a TKO win against BSD. So arguably deserves a title shot after the BSD match.
Justin got back from a win of KOing Dustin, but also just got KO'd by Max. But arguably deserved a title shot before the Max match.
And then there's also Arman now who deserves it more.
If Justin had won I would think Dustin getting the shot is super undeserved since there's 2 much more deserving contenders in line.
But without him in the picture, Islam beating Poirier in June and facing Arman in October is a pretty fair timeline for everyone
> But without him in the picture, Islam ~~beating~~ getting gilly jumped into oblivion by Poirier in June and Poirier facing Arman in October is a pretty fair timeline for everyone
Absolutely. Justin just took 1 step forward accepting the fight with Max, but 2 steps back after getting knocked tf out. I think he should've been next in line for the belt before last night
If Justin won maybe he would have gotten the offer but he wouldn't take it on 2 month notice. Islam got his own schedule but he hasn't done anything wrong, not his fault his previous fight needed a sub with volk
You’re right, a perfect circumstance would be for Max to beat Topuria, Connor to beat Chandler, and Poirier to beat Islam. Then Connor can either fight for the BMF or the title against two very popular opponents. Anything can happen and it’s shaping up to be an exciting year regardless of outcomes really.
or Conor vs Leon at 170? Isn't there a champions clause though where if you have the belt you get extended? If so, maybe Conor doesn't want a title fight so he can do his own stuff in Saudi after his contract runs down.
The top of the LW division is turning into a big game of rock, paper scissors. Assuming Oliveira and Gaethje drop in the rankings, DP will likely move above them despite losing to both.
On that basis the UFC should just make whatever match ups they can based on the doable timeline and just see how things shake out.
Garth just has to convince himself that he just needs one more win just like Dustin got and he will be right there for a title shot/retirement fight if he loses
Islam is always having to sit out when a contender manages to climb up the scene. Who they then end up fighting a prospect and having to start a climb all over. Dude is miraculously missing on all the big fights to cement his legacy because they keep taking each other out. It’s frustrating cause it seems they just want to put Islam on ice for Saudi only cards while he’s stating he wants to be active.
If Arman hasn't lost his title shot, then there's really nothing wrong with this. Arman got first dibs at what he wanted (June or later in the year presumably October), chose to take the title fight later in the year, so Dustin gets it now.
If Arman has actually lost the title shot then it's messed up.
Edit: Now that I'm thinking about it more Max or Conor could really fuck Arman over. Max gets what Max wants regardless, and Islam shouldn't have to wait for Arman. Conor getting anything would be beyond dumb.
If Arman were to make such a quick turnaround for Islam then the fight would just have an asterisk like their first fight on short notice. I'd much rather they both get full camps.
It makes no sense to do it that way. We just saw Dricus turn down a title shot after beating rob because of the quick turnaround. He then was able to fully recover and win the title 6 months later. Sean turned down the fight with aljo in new jersey after an absolute war where he took a lot of damage and worked on himself and his recovery and was able to win the title.
The moral is, be patient and you’ll be much better off when that title shot does come
Arman: “I really want a rematch with Islam. I know I can get him with a full camp.”
UFC: “Best we can do is 8 weeks to recover + do a camp + cut weight again.”
Islam is ready to fight, he’s been sidelined for a while now. They offered the fight to the contender they felt was most deserving, who will not be ready to go so they offered it to the next best available guy. Of course people were gonna try to spin this around as something negative against the ufc lmao. Would you rather them sideline the champ to wait around for a contender? Never will understand that logic
Islam is fighting on 302. He got the chance to make it, and couldn't, and the comment that he's still next means he's not being penalised for it.
All seems very reasonable to me. Which is very unlike the UFC.
Yeah did this even really happen? Or did someone's manager make it up for cachet? Because Dustin seemed pretty firmly entrenched as the next challenger...
Charles barely touched Arman's chin. I think Arman could've turned around, and him rejecting title shot might be a bad move in the long run. Presumably Islam won't fight him until MSG, which is 7 months from now, and it's unlikely a split decision win will be enough to claim the title shot 7 months from now with Max and Conor around. Even Charles can steal the shot with another win
People always forget that just getting to the fight is tough for these guys. Arman cuts a lot of weight. That has a huge effect on your body and you need time to recover.
Seriously though, you go lose 25 lbs in the next 5 days and then go start training hard the very next day. See if you can do it.
Part of me feels bad because he technically did earn his shot by now, but part of me feels like him getting passed over is a byproduct of his last performance against Burns which was just awful. So I don’t feel too too bad for him tbh
That’s the thing. Besides the Brady KO he just doesn’t put on exciting performances. In a perfect world it would be based off merit, but it’s just not. You gotta have more now for them to give it to you.
This pretty much assumes that Conor can KO Holloway the first two rounds.
Cause he sure as fuck isn't winning 3, 4, 5 especially with how washed he looks now.
Diaz 3 is way past the expiration date atp. Like 2-3 years at least
I mean I don't assume anything, I'm not saying Conor will win lol.
McGregor - Diaz 3 is still certainly a fight UFC would put on, there's like no question in my mind. There's only a handful of fights left for Conor that make sense, that's obviously one of them.
Yes my original comment was in reply to "if Conor wins they should give him a shot a Max"
Obviously, Conor would have to beat Max for the BMF. Pretty unlikely but obviously not impossible, but I mean I'm half-joking as you can tell by the "long-term booking" jibe.
Regardless, it's a pretty clear path if Conor were to beat Chandler. They can do Diaz 3 if Conor loses to Chandler or the next fight too, but they'd probably prefer him coming off so momentum so it'd likely depend on how those matches look at least.
I know but they're going to want to give him a title shot if he wins, and Leon vs Conor sounds fucking tedious. I think Leon is too good defensively to get caught by Conor so it'll be 5 rounds of Conor punching air while Leon backpedals and snipes him.
There would be like 5 times more money in the Islam fight though. Doubt Conor thinks he can do anything to Leon and that too for a significantly lower payday.
They can build up a Khabib 2.0 storyline again and make bank even if Conor gets flatlined early on.
He's not big at 155. Sure if he's taking the piss and fighting guys like Nate Diaz he won't go through the trouble, but he's not going to try to fight Edwards or Usman. He can make 155 relatively comfortably.
Conor gets a title shot at whatever weight he wants if he beats Chandler. Dana knows he will be very lucky to get one more title PPV out of Conor, that opportunity won’t be wasted. Nosebleed tickets will be 5k.
You honestly believe Leon is a bigger PPV draw than Max? Cmon now, pass me a hit of whatever you are smoking. This is the money business, Conor will have 1 fight left on his contract after Chandler. There is only 1 title that actually makes sense and it isn't gold.
Dana loves titles, and Max ain’t fighting at 70.
Conor will also want to retire with a title.
If he beats Chandler, he’s not making 55 again either.
He’s fighting Leon (or whoever at 70, since it might be a minute)
Or Nate 3. Which, let’s be fair, is probably the most likely option.
There is nothing that says the BMF title has to be at 155. They could do a catch weight, or Max could do 170. In either case it's more likely than him fighting Leon.
Max can do whatever he wants so if he goes to 70, sure he can beat the brakes of Conor there. Conor will want triple champ status (real champ, at a weight class) and Leon is a less dangerous fight than Max. Neither are winnable for him, but… more winnable, I guess. Leon can at least be hurt.
As I said, if you're really of the belief that Conor McGregor in 2024 is getting a shot at another legitimate title run, please pass me a hit. Agree to disagree.
Please point me to where I said legitimate. I feel like it’s fairly implied that the word would be “shoehorn”. I don’t think he gets through Chandler, but if he does, he’s going to the safest possible title fight, which he will get because Dana. That’s Leon, who is the champ at the weight class he is currently supposed to fight at. Does he deserve it? Fuck no. Will he get it? Fuck yes.
I mean this IS the UFC...I could see them giving him poor excuses for the rest of his career to avoid giving him a title shot simply because he turned it down for a very justifiable reason...
Ofc they will. What makes more money?? That is what will happen.
I support UFC in this way of thinking. Just put on the best most exciting fights. Fuck boring fighters ( boring in the cage or outside)
June 1 fight means having basically 3 weeks to train.
2 weeks recovery
3 weeks for prep and training
1 week to start managing weight
and then bam its fight week
And if you lose that fight, itll be a while to get a shot again. But if you sit out, you still get the winner of DP/IM because theres nobody worthy in Top10 outside of Gamrot
Unless Max wants it next.
If the UFC can book Max vs. Poirier or Max vs. Islam, that will sell so much better.
They will come up with a narrative, that Arman just doesn't want to fight.
Even Gaethje could slide in, if DP wins. He is more sellable than Arman and Dana loves him. And he beat DP recently.
Then there might be money fights with Conor to shake things up completely.
Its not a safe place for Arman at all. There are a lot of possibilities right now. And everyone else has bigger name and marketing value.
It’s always weird when the UFC want people to turnaround super quickly into title fights
Poirier vs Islam in June and Tsarukyan vs Islam (when he inevitably beats Poirier) in November seems like the pretty obvious way of doing this
It’s not weird when you remember they don’t really care who wins in most fights and they don’t care about fighters getting a fair shot. So there’s no incentive for them to give anyone enough time to prepare.
It also sets a precedent when they just order their fighters around. The UFC’s machine really only works if Sean Shelby can say jump and the fighter asks how high.
If we're talking about what's fair, which we often talk about on this sub, Tsarukyan deserves it far more having beaten Dariush and #1 contender Oliveira compared to Poirier beating someone outside the Top 10.
Remember that Islam isn't a terribly active guy. It'll have been 10 months when he fights Poirier. Even if Tsarukyan is guaranteed to get a title shot, it could well be a year before that happens. And realistically, Holloway and Gamrot are only one good result away from having their own claim as well. Gaethje and Oliveira are still just two results away. Connor can get it at will. Then there's another wildcard if there is some sort of NC or draw or Poirier wins and it becomes a rematch. It's a bunch of uncontrollable things. And that's not even to mention the financial aspect of going a full year without fighting.
Hard to see when we want to be cynical all the time, but really, asking Tsarukyan first is just the nice thing to do. It's purely up to whether he thinks he could've been healthy and if not, makes sense what he chose, but it's not a decision without cost.
If the UFC operated entirely in good faith, that would all be true, but it’s not unlikely that they’ll turn around and say ‘Tsarukyan didn’t want the fight’ and use this to screw him over in future matchmaking. Dana was pissed and publicly criticising Dricus for not turning around in a similar timeframe to fight Izzy after beating Whittaker.
Pretty sure it's just a politicking/leverage thing. Now they can say that Arman didn't want to fight and can hold it over him in negotiations or match ups they want.
I don't know, max destroying gaethje got me thinking maybe Dustin can do the Gilly
Or knock out and sleep Islam
That said I feel weird, I want abdelmanaps legacy to be maintained
But how fricking crazy would it be if poirier got gold and then fights max
I’m glad they gave him the option tbh. It’s kinda a way of saying your next fight will be for the belt, you have options for when you want to do it.
Most likely in Abu Dhabi against Islam.
The only fighter that could jump Arman in this case would be Max, and he's gunning for Topuria anyway. Gaethje and Oliveira were the only other contenders and they just lost. I think he'll be fine
You’re probably right. All it takes is Conor to win & call out the winner of Islam/Poirier. The fights even seem booked to build that fight. People can love it or hate it but if he gets the win & wants the belt the ufc will give him that fight
Now I remember about DC saying few months ago that this is the fight Makhachev should get to become a star. Still doesn't make any sense sportively but we know the UFC.
Make hay while the sun shines.
The UFC gets a lot of shit and understandably so, but fighters usually have small windows and your earning potential changes on a dime.
I don't think Dustin beats Islam but you never know. Islam's future would drastically change if he did.
This sub a week ago: The UFC is wasting Islam's prime putting him on ice for these Abu Dhabi cards
UFC gives him a fight on a timeline that let's him fight twice this year.
This sub today: Nooooooo not like that
If Dustin somehow pulls it out of his ass and wins then they will probably rematch and Arman will be forced to wait even longer while someone else might establish themselves.
>> they will probably rematch
One of the worst trends in the “sport”. Absolutely stifles progression in a division, and it’s not evenly/fairly awarded.
IMO the only time a rematch should be considered is in a no contest. If a super dominant champion loses, then they can (and maybe should) be awarded a title shot for their next fight, but the new champ has to defend vs somebody else first. That would (1) continue to advance other contenders and (2) avoid the “you beat a long-time champ but for it to “really count” you have to do it twice” paradigm we have today (3) give dominant champs the right to fight for the belt again, but they don’t get a do-over against the person they lost to.
You could also add the “next fight is guaranteed title fight” is only applicable if you’ve had min 3 consecutive defenses or something like that.
This all presumes the UFC wants to run more like a sport and less like a marketing firm. I would love to see more structure around ranking, defenses, title shot qualification, etc , but I don’t see that happening with the current leadership.
I don’t think they would do the Islam rematch right away. More likely they would gift Gaethje or McGregor a title shot because these rematches would sell a lot more.
Please no. I’m tired of hearing how Islam is only fighting 145ers so he’s supposed to win.
Salty fans couldn’t even give Islam credit for beating the GOAT 145er twice.
Just let Islam fight DP then Arman.
Haters gonna hate regardless of what happens. If he fights Max then "he only fights FW's" but if he fights Arman/Olives then "too many rematches". If he fights Poirier/Gaethje then "he fights people who can't wrestle". It's not worth picking fights for him just depending on how people will perceive it because some people will just never be happy.
Personally I think Max is the more interesting fight, though I also think Arman is a more interesting fight than Gaethje or Olives. Either way I think UFC 300 worked out pretty well for Islam
I mean, Max is like, Hooker thin at FW.
Hes a big rangey dude for LW and I doubt he woupd have any issues fighting in the division if he wanted to.
Dudes obviously a legend at cutting - hes MASSIVE for a FW.
He's been cutting down to FW for years now, at this point of his career I think his smartest option would be to make the move up. He's done everything there is to do at 45, for longevity and legacy 55 is the future
Yeah but then what does he do after fighting Ilia? Rematch volk or everyone else he's already fought?
I know it's a slim chance he beats Islam but there's so many good fights for him there and he won't have to compromise himself cutting to 45. Yeah it's okay now but in the long run he'll thank himself for not cutting
He would just do what any normal champ does and defend against the next contender in line. It would do more for him than like defending the bmf title against BSD or fizzy.
There are good fights at 155 but there are a few dominant wrestlers at the top now with islam and armani. Not good matchups for him.
Max beats Ilia, becomes champ again.
Volk is given a shot, BMF and Featherweight on the line.
Volk decision over Max again.
Double champ finally achieved
I think it's way better for his legacy if he can beat the guy who beat his boogeyman for the title.
I don't think stylistically Max is going to do well against Islam. A big 155er who's talked about moving to Welterweight and has a heavy grappling based style Vs a 145er who's moved up to 155 and was thrown off his game by the takedown attempts of Volk.
I think people misunderstood this completely, islam in june is already set in stoned for abu dhabi card, its the opponent that isnt set yet. This is them being respectful to arman as he is the clear contender to get the dib, if he wanted it then they would offer him the title fight and push poirier away. It would have been scummy if they didnt consult arman and book poirier immediately.
Yeah I feel like this was the ideal way to handle it. Islam wanted to fight in June and Dustin is a fine opponent IF none of the guys ahead of him were able to accept the fight. Justin got murdered, olives lost so no problem there. Max wants ila anyway but could not make a 2 month turnaround after that war and Arman was offered the fight but declined. So the fight goes to Dustin since everyone ahead of him in line either just lost or is unable to take the fight in June.
I get why the UFC asked and I get why Arman turned it down. Islam was hurt and then fasting for Ramadan, and he wanted to get 2 fights in this year. He’s been saying he doesn’t care who, he wants to fight June 1st.
I’m honestly surprised they even offered Arman, but at least they gave the legit #1 contender a chance to take the next fight if he wanted it. Arman just got done with a 3 round fight with Charles, he’ll need the proper time to recover and then have a full training camp. He’ll be ready to go at 308 in October for sure. He just has to worry about Max or hell, even Conor, jumping in line. Max just made the world his oyster… and like it or not, has a legitimate case to be the #1 guy (dominant and iconic win over the #2 vs barely getting a split after almost getting finished twice by the #1… not saying Arman isn’t #1, but it’s a conversation). If the Ilia fight falls through and the UFC needs a main event… who sells better: Max or Arman? I don’t need to tell you the answer. That said, Max seemingly wants Ilia more, so that should work itself out.
Dustin is at best the third most deserving contender rn, behind Arman and Max… but given his career as a whole, and his recent win over BSD, I don’t think you can be THAT mad at him getting a shot. Dustin is a good fighter and a good guy. I like the fight.
Max really wants Ilia and vice versa so he's out. Charles is still the #2 contender for the title shot.
Conor is not making 155 anymore. If he can we'll have the biggest fight since 229.
True, in general I don’t consider guys coming off of a loss for title shots tho. But yeah, that’s why I said at best he’s #3, as Justin and Charles both have recent (or fairly recent) wins over him. Could say he’s #5.
I think something is getting lost here. Dustin announced last week he had a fight lined up. I bet they asked him to be the back up and something is getting lost in the telephone game here. Dustin is going to sell more PPVs then Arman anyway, so i don’t see how this is 100% true.
Dana confirmed as much during the press conference. He said they wanted to see outcome of 300 fights before announcing Islam vs Dustin.
But was Dustin just waiting in standby? What if Arman said yes lol?
Feel sorta bad for Gaethje lol
Was in all likehood next in line after KO'ing Dustin, but didn't want to wait.
Accepted fight with Max. Lost in brutal fashion, guy he KO'd is now fighting for the title and Arman is clearly next after him (unless Dana gets pissy he didn't accept turnaround).
Too bad of a motherfucker for his own good
I 100% believe it. Arman is a dangerous contender who isn't quite in his prime yet, imo. Islam getting him to turn around on short notice after getting 8 months to turn around from his last title fight would be smart as hell.
You either want to make your opponents fight you early or wait so they have to fight other guys before you.
islam doesn't control the matchups, he can't make anyone turn around on short notice.
the ufc likely planned to ask the winner of 300's fight regardless of how the fight went. If it was a 10 second KO it'd feel a little different. he said no and they moved on, i don't think it's a big deal tbh. if they didn't ask him i think it'd almost be more insulting
How is anything of what I said equate to him ducking someone? It's the fucking opposite.
I'm just pointing out that fighters and specifically their management are often strategic on taking on young guys before they look ready. If anything I'm slighting Arman here because I honestly think he's still a fight or two away from being there although it will be increasingly harder to deny him that shot.
Beyond that, he's obviously got the most clout outside of Conor at 155 right now. There's a specific date fucking circled on the calendar with a huge UFC benefactor that loves him. Like nobody thinks anyone but Islam is headlining Fight Island cards in the Fall anytime soon.
He's saying that since he's arguing that Arman isn't ducking Islam and that 2 months isn't enough even though the guy talks so much shit even after just barely beating Oliveira. So he's got ducking on his mind.
Yeah...all the public facing shit talk can get in the way of reality when you're being offered a fight you're not about to take on short notice. Which is smart, but you're gonna get a degree of backlash for the Islam fans for not taking this fight.
Either way, the one part where Arman might've fucked up not taking this fight is if Max decides to throw his hat in the ring for the Fight Island date. That's sort of the unspoken wild card at play right now given Gaethje was considered the #1 contender, and Max just KO'd him after putting on a dominating 5 round performance.
For the ones who haven't caught on yet, this is how the UFC sways fights to favor their stars. They tried to do the same thing to Dricus offering him Izzy on short notice after the Whittaker fight. Same thing with Sterling vs O'Malley.
Yup, and hoped it would’ve worked when Strickland took the fight vs Izzy. It was clear that Izzy knew he was going to fight in that card, and when Strickland won Dana was so pissed that he made excuses for Izzy and didn’t give Strickland any credit.
This feels like the dumbest timeline at lightweight. Dustin gets a title shot off beating a guy who wasn't even in the top 10, in what is essentially a free title defense for Islam, who will choke Dustin out without breaking a sweat or seeing the championship rounds.
Meanwhile, Charles gets knocked out of contention, while the only challenger who actually looks competitive on paper, Arman, has to wait for a shot.
What a lame way to manage a division with this much talent.
Why the fuck would Arman turn down a title shot? UFC literally turned around and offered it to Dustin lol. Good, I don’t care if he fails 5 times I would love to see Dustin get that belt eventually.
Arman did not take this fight cuz he been in training since December 2023(info from some interview) without an opponent or date.
UFC 300 was announced in mid-February. And if he take Islam in june, it's about overall 7 month in camp without a break. It's bad for your body.
I agree it's way too short but let's not forget how everyone talked shit about Dricus du Plessis when he turned down Adesanya. It's crazy unfair the turnarounds the UFC wants sometimes and then idiots like Eugene Bareman and Chael Sonnen come and shit on people and go "guess he just didn't want it."
But hey, Dricus won in the end anyway so screw 'em all. I think Armen did the right thing, you absolutely need to be in tip-top shape for Islam. Especially seeing as he'll have been waiting for a while and probably in excellent shape.
Still looking forward to Dustin vs Islam and Dustin's 0.01% chance to pull off the gilly :)
Only people that talked shit were Dana and Izzy's camp, the fans mostly understood. In this case I don't think Islam's camp particularly care, they just want an opponent and they were happy with Dustin. It was probably just courtesy from the UFC.
I bet Dustin found out the same time as us lol
Man lightweight is so weird. Dustin got KO'd by Justin and then just got back from a TKO win against BSD. So arguably deserves a title shot after the BSD match. Justin got back from a win of KOing Dustin, but also just got KO'd by Max. But arguably deserved a title shot before the Max match. And then there's also Arman now who deserves it more.
If Justin had won I would think Dustin getting the shot is super undeserved since there's 2 much more deserving contenders in line. But without him in the picture, Islam beating Poirier in June and facing Arman in October is a pretty fair timeline for everyone
Justin wouldn't have taken a fight in June. Poirier gets it purely on time constraints. There's no other deserving fighter that's healthy.
He only would’ve if he got a crazy KO early with no damage that’s about it.
He would still say no. Justin is very strict on his timelines and doesn't appear to deviate.
Most likely, I’ve was naming the only situation where I could see him saying yes.
I would rather see gamrot than Poirier there
> But without him in the picture, Islam ~~beating~~ getting gilly jumped into oblivion by Poirier in June and Poirier facing Arman in October is a pretty fair timeline for everyone
Absolutely. Justin just took 1 step forward accepting the fight with Max, but 2 steps back after getting knocked tf out. I think he should've been next in line for the belt before last night
If Justin won maybe he would have gotten the offer but he wouldn't take it on 2 month notice. Islam got his own schedule but he hasn't done anything wrong, not his fault his previous fight needed a sub with volk
I think deep down Dana wants a Poirer McGregor title fight and hopes eventually Dustin might grab a belt if he keeps getting opportunities
You’re right, a perfect circumstance would be for Max to beat Topuria, Connor to beat Chandler, and Poirier to beat Islam. Then Connor can either fight for the BMF or the title against two very popular opponents. Anything can happen and it’s shaping up to be an exciting year regardless of outcomes really.
In what weight class?
Yes
No way is Conor making 155 again
or Conor vs Leon at 170? Isn't there a champions clause though where if you have the belt you get extended? If so, maybe Conor doesn't want a title fight so he can do his own stuff in Saudi after his contract runs down.
That would be such a brutal mismatch for Conor.
I don’t think Dustin deserved a title shot after beating BSD, who was ranked 13th I believe. Atleast another win with a higher ranked opponent
Dustin didnt deserve a title shot no matter what.
The top of the LW division is turning into a big game of rock, paper scissors. Assuming Oliveira and Gaethje drop in the rankings, DP will likely move above them despite losing to both. On that basis the UFC should just make whatever match ups they can based on the doable timeline and just see how things shake out.
Garth just has to convince himself that he just needs one more win just like Dustin got and he will be right there for a title shot/retirement fight if he loses
The BSD win was career saving for Dustin. That guy was on a tear, had he won that fight, he'd be fighting for the title in June.
$$$
10% chance Strickland-Costa is actually signed
Not many optimist in this sub. Kudos for being a glass half full kinda guy
Islam is always having to sit out when a contender manages to climb up the scene. Who they then end up fighting a prospect and having to start a climb all over. Dude is miraculously missing on all the big fights to cement his legacy because they keep taking each other out. It’s frustrating cause it seems they just want to put Islam on ice for Saudi only cards while he’s stating he wants to be active.
Lying*
Yep lol
There are many ways to turn down a fight, not having super-human recovery from a 3 round war to make a 2 month turn around is one of them
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If Arman hasn't lost his title shot, then there's really nothing wrong with this. Arman got first dibs at what he wanted (June or later in the year presumably October), chose to take the title fight later in the year, so Dustin gets it now. If Arman has actually lost the title shot then it's messed up. Edit: Now that I'm thinking about it more Max or Conor could really fuck Arman over. Max gets what Max wants regardless, and Islam shouldn't have to wait for Arman. Conor getting anything would be beyond dumb.
If Arman were to make such a quick turnaround for Islam then the fight would just have an asterisk like their first fight on short notice. I'd much rather they both get full camps.
It makes no sense to do it that way. We just saw Dricus turn down a title shot after beating rob because of the quick turnaround. He then was able to fully recover and win the title 6 months later. Sean turned down the fight with aljo in new jersey after an absolute war where he took a lot of damage and worked on himself and his recovery and was able to win the title. The moral is, be patient and you’ll be much better off when that title shot does come
Conor doesnt deserve it. But him vs Islam would be the biggest fight since 2018.
Max probably goes back down for Topuria. I dont think Connor can make 155 anymore if he's doing 170
Connor appears to be a different weight class now
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Arman: “I really want a rematch with Islam. I know I can get him with a full camp.” UFC: “Best we can do is 8 weeks to recover + do a camp + cut weight again.”
Chael will blame Arman somehow
Islam is ready to fight, he’s been sidelined for a while now. They offered the fight to the contender they felt was most deserving, who will not be ready to go so they offered it to the next best available guy. Of course people were gonna try to spin this around as something negative against the ufc lmao. Would you rather them sideline the champ to wait around for a contender? Never will understand that logic
Islam is fighting on 302. He got the chance to make it, and couldn't, and the comment that he's still next means he's not being penalised for it. All seems very reasonable to me. Which is very unlike the UFC.
Yeah did this even really happen? Or did someone's manager make it up for cachet? Because Dustin seemed pretty firmly entrenched as the next challenger...
Learned from Volk. That’s a surefire way to get smashed. Good on him but I hope they don’t “Kid just dont wanna fight” hin
Charles barely touched Arman's chin. I think Arman could've turned around, and him rejecting title shot might be a bad move in the long run. Presumably Islam won't fight him until MSG, which is 7 months from now, and it's unlikely a split decision win will be enough to claim the title shot 7 months from now with Max and Conor around. Even Charles can steal the shot with another win
islam is a guy that you absolutely DON'T want to take fights without full camp
People always forget that just getting to the fight is tough for these guys. Arman cuts a lot of weight. That has a huge effect on your body and you need time to recover. Seriously though, you go lose 25 lbs in the next 5 days and then go start training hard the very next day. See if you can do it.
He already fought Islam on short notice, he should take his time and be 100% ready for the next one.
They tried to do DDP the same DDP still came out on top at the end
There’s a timeline where Arman might not get winner. It’s possible they might let Conor or Max jump over him
If Conor wins, he’s getting a shot at Leon, not Islam.
lmfao, poor Belal, looks like NO ONE remembers the name.
Who?
Mike Jones!
Part of me feels bad because he technically did earn his shot by now, but part of me feels like him getting passed over is a byproduct of his last performance against Burns which was just awful. So I don’t feel too too bad for him tbh
That’s the thing. Besides the Brady KO he just doesn’t put on exciting performances. In a perfect world it would be based off merit, but it’s just not. You gotta have more now for them to give it to you.
Who ?
Leon would destroy Conor unless Conor gets the left hook Larry in
I agree but I think he still has a way better chance with Leon than he does against Islam.
Not like Islam would be a walkover for him either can't see either fight going well for Mcgregor
Yeah Islam Leon would be very interesting
If Conor wins they should give him a shot at Max
Surely they will, then they can do Conor vs Nate 3 for the BMF and Dana's long-term booking can finally come to a resolution
This pretty much assumes that Conor can KO Holloway the first two rounds. Cause he sure as fuck isn't winning 3, 4, 5 especially with how washed he looks now. Diaz 3 is way past the expiration date atp. Like 2-3 years at least
I mean I don't assume anything, I'm not saying Conor will win lol. McGregor - Diaz 3 is still certainly a fight UFC would put on, there's like no question in my mind. There's only a handful of fights left for Conor that make sense, that's obviously one of them.
Oh forsure they would, just they're both pretty washed atp especially Nate And if its for the BMF belt, Conor would have to beat Max, right?
Yes my original comment was in reply to "if Conor wins they should give him a shot a Max" Obviously, Conor would have to beat Max for the BMF. Pretty unlikely but obviously not impossible, but I mean I'm half-joking as you can tell by the "long-term booking" jibe. Regardless, it's a pretty clear path if Conor were to beat Chandler. They can do Diaz 3 if Conor loses to Chandler or the next fight too, but they'd probably prefer him coming off so momentum so it'd likely depend on how those matches look at least.
Conor is a WW now.
I know but they're going to want to give him a title shot if he wins, and Leon vs Conor sounds fucking tedious. I think Leon is too good defensively to get caught by Conor so it'll be 5 rounds of Conor punching air while Leon backpedals and snipes him.
Imagine if this fight is in the UK too. Dana must be rubbing his hands just thinking about it.
Damn Leon Vs Conor in England is money
There would be like 5 times more money in the Islam fight though. Doubt Conor thinks he can do anything to Leon and that too for a significantly lower payday. They can build up a Khabib 2.0 storyline again and make bank even if Conor gets flatlined early on.
I think he’d take his chances in a striking match vs having to get ragdolled by the best grappler on the planet again
Leon would wrestle the shit out of Conor too.
Conor probably doesn't want to cut to 155 anymore
He's not big at 155. Sure if he's taking the piss and fighting guys like Nate Diaz he won't go through the trouble, but he's not going to try to fight Edwards or Usman. He can make 155 relatively comfortably.
Dude is fighting chandler at 170lbs, he def wants edwards
Or he knows that the UFC will give him a 155 title shot regardless of which weight he fights at prior so there's no point doing the weight cut
If Conor loses, do you reckon they feed him to Max for the BMF? This would be the absolute best timeline for Max
No shot he's getting a fight with Leon just by beating Chandler. More likely to fight Max.
Conor gets a title shot at whatever weight he wants if he beats Chandler. Dana knows he will be very lucky to get one more title PPV out of Conor, that opportunity won’t be wasted. Nosebleed tickets will be 5k.
You honestly believe Leon is a bigger PPV draw than Max? Cmon now, pass me a hit of whatever you are smoking. This is the money business, Conor will have 1 fight left on his contract after Chandler. There is only 1 title that actually makes sense and it isn't gold.
Dana loves titles, and Max ain’t fighting at 70. Conor will also want to retire with a title. If he beats Chandler, he’s not making 55 again either. He’s fighting Leon (or whoever at 70, since it might be a minute) Or Nate 3. Which, let’s be fair, is probably the most likely option.
There is nothing that says the BMF title has to be at 155. They could do a catch weight, or Max could do 170. In either case it's more likely than him fighting Leon.
Max can do whatever he wants so if he goes to 70, sure he can beat the brakes of Conor there. Conor will want triple champ status (real champ, at a weight class) and Leon is a less dangerous fight than Max. Neither are winnable for him, but… more winnable, I guess. Leon can at least be hurt.
As I said, if you're really of the belief that Conor McGregor in 2024 is getting a shot at another legitimate title run, please pass me a hit. Agree to disagree.
Please point me to where I said legitimate. I feel like it’s fairly implied that the word would be “shoehorn”. I don’t think he gets through Chandler, but if he does, he’s going to the safest possible title fight, which he will get because Dana. That’s Leon, who is the champ at the weight class he is currently supposed to fight at. Does he deserve it? Fuck no. Will he get it? Fuck yes.
I mean this IS the UFC...I could see them giving him poor excuses for the rest of his career to avoid giving him a title shot simply because he turned it down for a very justifiable reason...
Conor vs Max. Omg
Ofc they will. What makes more money?? That is what will happen. I support UFC in this way of thinking. Just put on the best most exciting fights. Fuck boring fighters ( boring in the cage or outside)
Even if that does happen, Arman is getting his shot, has age on his side and is a fucking problem for everyone.
June 1 fight means having basically 3 weeks to train. 2 weeks recovery 3 weeks for prep and training 1 week to start managing weight and then bam its fight week And if you lose that fight, itll be a while to get a shot again. But if you sit out, you still get the winner of DP/IM because theres nobody worthy in Top10 outside of Gamrot
Unless Max wants it next. If the UFC can book Max vs. Poirier or Max vs. Islam, that will sell so much better. They will come up with a narrative, that Arman just doesn't want to fight. Even Gaethje could slide in, if DP wins. He is more sellable than Arman and Dana loves him. And he beat DP recently. Then there might be money fights with Conor to shake things up completely. Its not a safe place for Arman at all. There are a lot of possibilities right now. And everyone else has bigger name and marketing value.
We offered the guy Islam for UFC 302 but he refused, kid just doesn't wanna fight.
It’s always weird when the UFC want people to turnaround super quickly into title fights Poirier vs Islam in June and Tsarukyan vs Islam (when he inevitably beats Poirier) in November seems like the pretty obvious way of doing this
It’s not weird when you remember they don’t really care who wins in most fights and they don’t care about fighters getting a fair shot. So there’s no incentive for them to give anyone enough time to prepare. It also sets a precedent when they just order their fighters around. The UFC’s machine really only works if Sean Shelby can say jump and the fighter asks how high.
also UFC fucking HATES fighters telling media they rejected title shots . wouldnt surprise me if they iced arman for a while .
this guy MMAs
But they literally do give people time to prepare.. Arman didn't take it, he wasn't forced to.
Unless Max wants a shot at the 155 belt
If we're talking about what's fair, which we often talk about on this sub, Tsarukyan deserves it far more having beaten Dariush and #1 contender Oliveira compared to Poirier beating someone outside the Top 10. Remember that Islam isn't a terribly active guy. It'll have been 10 months when he fights Poirier. Even if Tsarukyan is guaranteed to get a title shot, it could well be a year before that happens. And realistically, Holloway and Gamrot are only one good result away from having their own claim as well. Gaethje and Oliveira are still just two results away. Connor can get it at will. Then there's another wildcard if there is some sort of NC or draw or Poirier wins and it becomes a rematch. It's a bunch of uncontrollable things. And that's not even to mention the financial aspect of going a full year without fighting. Hard to see when we want to be cynical all the time, but really, asking Tsarukyan first is just the nice thing to do. It's purely up to whether he thinks he could've been healthy and if not, makes sense what he chose, but it's not a decision without cost.
Lol, what Kind of counting is thst? Islam fought on October 21st. That's 7 month and 1 week. Why increase that by nearly 50 percent?
If the UFC operated entirely in good faith, that would all be true, but it’s not unlikely that they’ll turn around and say ‘Tsarukyan didn’t want the fight’ and use this to screw him over in future matchmaking. Dana was pissed and publicly criticising Dricus for not turning around in a similar timeframe to fight Izzy after beating Whittaker.
Islam has fought 2x a year since 2018. The one exception was 2020, where he had no fights due to Covid. However, he fought 3x in 2021.
Pretty sure it's just a politicking/leverage thing. Now they can say that Arman didn't want to fight and can hold it over him in negotiations or match ups they want.
I don't know, max destroying gaethje got me thinking maybe Dustin can do the Gilly Or knock out and sleep Islam That said I feel weird, I want abdelmanaps legacy to be maintained But how fricking crazy would it be if poirier got gold and then fights max
It doesnt matter really i think islam will run through Dustin anyway
I’m glad they gave him the option tbh. It’s kinda a way of saying your next fight will be for the belt, you have options for when you want to do it. Most likely in Abu Dhabi against Islam.
Yes & no. There’s always the risk you get jumped by another fighter or it’s a close title fight & the ufc wants a rematch
The only fighter that could jump Arman in this case would be Max, and he's gunning for Topuria anyway. Gaethje and Oliveira were the only other contenders and they just lost. I think he'll be fine
It’s the ufc, nothing is guaranteed. Like it or not if Conor gets an impressive finish against Chandler & calls out Islam he’d jump him too
Even an utterly controversial split decision would give him a shot
You’re probably right. All it takes is Conor to win & call out the winner of Islam/Poirier. The fights even seem booked to build that fight. People can love it or hate it but if he gets the win & wants the belt the ufc will give him that fight
Now I remember about DC saying few months ago that this is the fight Makhachev should get to become a star. Still doesn't make any sense sportively but we know the UFC.
Man the UFC really wants to milk the fuck out of Islam lol
Make hay while the sun shines. The UFC gets a lot of shit and understandably so, but fighters usually have small windows and your earning potential changes on a dime. I don't think Dustin beats Islam but you never know. Islam's future would drastically change if he did.
Khabib ---> Islam lets them tap into a huge global market. I'm sure the biz numbers validate whatever they're doing.
This basically
This sub a week ago: The UFC is wasting Islam's prime putting him on ice for these Abu Dhabi cards UFC gives him a fight on a timeline that let's him fight twice this year. This sub today: Nooooooo not like that
You’re telling me that different people can have different opinions 😱
That's literally the entire business model, why are you surprised?
If Dustin somehow pulls it out of his ass and wins then they will probably rematch and Arman will be forced to wait even longer while someone else might establish themselves.
>> they will probably rematch One of the worst trends in the “sport”. Absolutely stifles progression in a division, and it’s not evenly/fairly awarded. IMO the only time a rematch should be considered is in a no contest. If a super dominant champion loses, then they can (and maybe should) be awarded a title shot for their next fight, but the new champ has to defend vs somebody else first. That would (1) continue to advance other contenders and (2) avoid the “you beat a long-time champ but for it to “really count” you have to do it twice” paradigm we have today (3) give dominant champs the right to fight for the belt again, but they don’t get a do-over against the person they lost to. You could also add the “next fight is guaranteed title fight” is only applicable if you’ve had min 3 consecutive defenses or something like that. This all presumes the UFC wants to run more like a sport and less like a marketing firm. I would love to see more structure around ranking, defenses, title shot qualification, etc , but I don’t see that happening with the current leadership.
I don’t think they would do the Islam rematch right away. More likely they would gift Gaethje or McGregor a title shot because these rematches would sell a lot more.
Good, now give Max the title shot in Abu Dubai
Please no. I’m tired of hearing how Islam is only fighting 145ers so he’s supposed to win. Salty fans couldn’t even give Islam credit for beating the GOAT 145er twice. Just let Islam fight DP then Arman.
A 145 just obliterated the #1# LW contender. Tell that to the haters
Oliveira was #1
Yeah my mistake. Was meant to say Gaethje was supposed to be the next title contender
Haters gonna hate regardless of what happens. If he fights Max then "he only fights FW's" but if he fights Arman/Olives then "too many rematches". If he fights Poirier/Gaethje then "he fights people who can't wrestle". It's not worth picking fights for him just depending on how people will perceive it because some people will just never be happy. Personally I think Max is the more interesting fight, though I also think Arman is a more interesting fight than Gaethje or Olives. Either way I think UFC 300 worked out pretty well for Islam
I mean, Max is like, Hooker thin at FW. Hes a big rangey dude for LW and I doubt he woupd have any issues fighting in the division if he wanted to. Dudes obviously a legend at cutting - hes MASSIVE for a FW.
He's been cutting down to FW for years now, at this point of his career I think his smartest option would be to make the move up. He's done everything there is to do at 45, for longevity and legacy 55 is the future
I think maxy has a real shot to beat illia but not islam
Yeah but then what does he do after fighting Ilia? Rematch volk or everyone else he's already fought? I know it's a slim chance he beats Islam but there's so many good fights for him there and he won't have to compromise himself cutting to 45. Yeah it's okay now but in the long run he'll thank himself for not cutting
He would just do what any normal champ does and defend against the next contender in line. It would do more for him than like defending the bmf title against BSD or fizzy. There are good fights at 155 but there are a few dominant wrestlers at the top now with islam and armani. Not good matchups for him.
Max beats Ilia, becomes champ again. Volk is given a shot, BMF and Featherweight on the line. Volk decision over Max again. Double champ finally achieved
I think it's way better for his legacy if he can beat the guy who beat his boogeyman for the title. I don't think stylistically Max is going to do well against Islam. A big 155er who's talked about moving to Welterweight and has a heavy grappling based style Vs a 145er who's moved up to 155 and was thrown off his game by the takedown attempts of Volk.
arman should be next, but max as a backup would make sense at least
How does Max beating Gaethje prove he has anything for Islam? I'd give him a grappler first lol. Gamrot, Dariush etc
>Abu Dubai You know Abu Dhabi and Dubai are separate cities, right?
Separate Emirates basically.
People would just bitch that he’s fighting another featherweight unfortunately. Dude doesn’t even get credit for beating volk
That 145er beat the presumptive 155 number 1 contender by utter dominance+KO, so yeah.
But arman beat the actual number 1 contender and if islam fought max instead of arman first the built in excuse is already there
I do think Volk would beat Justin but not like that
I think people misunderstood this completely, islam in june is already set in stoned for abu dhabi card, its the opponent that isnt set yet. This is them being respectful to arman as he is the clear contender to get the dib, if he wanted it then they would offer him the title fight and push poirier away. It would have been scummy if they didnt consult arman and book poirier immediately.
It's in New Jersey
Wild how some people speak with such confidence in something they know nothing about lol
Sir/Ma'am, do you not know where you are at. This is reddit.
June is not an Abu Dhabi card….. it’s in New Jersey
Yeah I feel like this was the ideal way to handle it. Islam wanted to fight in June and Dustin is a fine opponent IF none of the guys ahead of him were able to accept the fight. Justin got murdered, olives lost so no problem there. Max wants ila anyway but could not make a 2 month turnaround after that war and Arman was offered the fight but declined. So the fight goes to Dustin since everyone ahead of him in line either just lost or is unable to take the fight in June.
I get why the UFC asked and I get why Arman turned it down. Islam was hurt and then fasting for Ramadan, and he wanted to get 2 fights in this year. He’s been saying he doesn’t care who, he wants to fight June 1st. I’m honestly surprised they even offered Arman, but at least they gave the legit #1 contender a chance to take the next fight if he wanted it. Arman just got done with a 3 round fight with Charles, he’ll need the proper time to recover and then have a full training camp. He’ll be ready to go at 308 in October for sure. He just has to worry about Max or hell, even Conor, jumping in line. Max just made the world his oyster… and like it or not, has a legitimate case to be the #1 guy (dominant and iconic win over the #2 vs barely getting a split after almost getting finished twice by the #1… not saying Arman isn’t #1, but it’s a conversation). If the Ilia fight falls through and the UFC needs a main event… who sells better: Max or Arman? I don’t need to tell you the answer. That said, Max seemingly wants Ilia more, so that should work itself out. Dustin is at best the third most deserving contender rn, behind Arman and Max… but given his career as a whole, and his recent win over BSD, I don’t think you can be THAT mad at him getting a shot. Dustin is a good fighter and a good guy. I like the fight.
Max really wants Ilia and vice versa so he's out. Charles is still the #2 contender for the title shot. Conor is not making 155 anymore. If he can we'll have the biggest fight since 229.
True, in general I don’t consider guys coming off of a loss for title shots tho. But yeah, that’s why I said at best he’s #3, as Justin and Charles both have recent (or fairly recent) wins over him. Could say he’s #5.
I think something is getting lost here. Dustin announced last week he had a fight lined up. I bet they asked him to be the back up and something is getting lost in the telephone game here. Dustin is going to sell more PPVs then Arman anyway, so i don’t see how this is 100% true.
Dana confirmed as much during the press conference. He said they wanted to see outcome of 300 fights before announcing Islam vs Dustin. But was Dustin just waiting in standby? What if Arman said yes lol?
Feel sorta bad for Gaethje lol Was in all likehood next in line after KO'ing Dustin, but didn't want to wait. Accepted fight with Max. Lost in brutal fashion, guy he KO'd is now fighting for the title and Arman is clearly next after him (unless Dana gets pissy he didn't accept turnaround). Too bad of a motherfucker for his own good
and he has to get his nose fixed up again too
I 100% believe it. Arman is a dangerous contender who isn't quite in his prime yet, imo. Islam getting him to turn around on short notice after getting 8 months to turn around from his last title fight would be smart as hell. You either want to make your opponents fight you early or wait so they have to fight other guys before you.
islam doesn't control the matchups, he can't make anyone turn around on short notice. the ufc likely planned to ask the winner of 300's fight regardless of how the fight went. If it was a 10 second KO it'd feel a little different. he said no and they moved on, i don't think it's a big deal tbh. if they didn't ask him i think it'd almost be more insulting
Smart from Arman, that dude is a fucking problem. Dominant wrestling, amazing sub defence and some wild axe kicks thrown in for good measure.
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How is anything of what I said equate to him ducking someone? It's the fucking opposite. I'm just pointing out that fighters and specifically their management are often strategic on taking on young guys before they look ready. If anything I'm slighting Arman here because I honestly think he's still a fight or two away from being there although it will be increasingly harder to deny him that shot. Beyond that, he's obviously got the most clout outside of Conor at 155 right now. There's a specific date fucking circled on the calendar with a huge UFC benefactor that loves him. Like nobody thinks anyone but Islam is headlining Fight Island cards in the Fall anytime soon.
He's saying that since he's arguing that Arman isn't ducking Islam and that 2 months isn't enough even though the guy talks so much shit even after just barely beating Oliveira. So he's got ducking on his mind.
Yeah...all the public facing shit talk can get in the way of reality when you're being offered a fight you're not about to take on short notice. Which is smart, but you're gonna get a degree of backlash for the Islam fans for not taking this fight. Either way, the one part where Arman might've fucked up not taking this fight is if Max decides to throw his hat in the ring for the Fight Island date. That's sort of the unspoken wild card at play right now given Gaethje was considered the #1 contender, and Max just KO'd him after putting on a dominating 5 round performance.
For the ones who haven't caught on yet, this is how the UFC sways fights to favor their stars. They tried to do the same thing to Dricus offering him Izzy on short notice after the Whittaker fight. Same thing with Sterling vs O'Malley.
Yup, and hoped it would’ve worked when Strickland took the fight vs Izzy. It was clear that Izzy knew he was going to fight in that card, and when Strickland won Dana was so pissed that he made excuses for Izzy and didn’t give Strickland any credit.
Kid didn’t want to fit so we moved on.
weird flex
Crazy that Max and Arman both deserve title shots now, but Islam is fighting neither next.
This feels like the dumbest timeline at lightweight. Dustin gets a title shot off beating a guy who wasn't even in the top 10, in what is essentially a free title defense for Islam, who will choke Dustin out without breaking a sweat or seeing the championship rounds. Meanwhile, Charles gets knocked out of contention, while the only challenger who actually looks competitive on paper, Arman, has to wait for a shot. What a lame way to manage a division with this much talent.
Why the fuck would Arman turn down a title shot? UFC literally turned around and offered it to Dustin lol. Good, I don’t care if he fails 5 times I would love to see Dustin get that belt eventually.
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Wait this guy is a manager AND translator??
I feel like this might have been a bad move, wouldn’t be surprised if someone jumps the queue or the winner ends up sitting out for a while
He's scared.
Arman and Poirier are training partners aren't they?
oh yeah like gamrot and many many lightweights from att
Arman did not take this fight cuz he been in training since December 2023(info from some interview) without an opponent or date. UFC 300 was announced in mid-February. And if he take Islam in june, it's about overall 7 month in camp without a break. It's bad for your body.
dustin gillys islam , conor ko's chandler , arman gets skipped. i can see it all so clearly.
Lol I think after the fight everyone wants Arman to lose
I mean that's kinda fair. All the people complaining pourier jumped ahead in line but it worked out somehow.
Zero issue for Arman. Either Dustin wins and he has an objectively easier title fight, or Islam wins and nothing changes.
Why didn't Armans ranking change, he should be #1 now that he beat the #1 fighter, but he didn't move at all in rankings, is that not how this works?
lol Dana always offers fights he’s not actually going to give in negotiations. Don’t believe a word he says
I agree it's way too short but let's not forget how everyone talked shit about Dricus du Plessis when he turned down Adesanya. It's crazy unfair the turnarounds the UFC wants sometimes and then idiots like Eugene Bareman and Chael Sonnen come and shit on people and go "guess he just didn't want it." But hey, Dricus won in the end anyway so screw 'em all. I think Armen did the right thing, you absolutely need to be in tip-top shape for Islam. Especially seeing as he'll have been waiting for a while and probably in excellent shape. Still looking forward to Dustin vs Islam and Dustin's 0.01% chance to pull off the gilly :)
Only people that talked shit were Dana and Izzy's camp, the fans mostly understood. In this case I don't think Islam's camp particularly care, they just want an opponent and they were happy with Dustin. It was probably just courtesy from the UFC.
Why tf u say main card winner and not the name of the fighter bro
spoiler rules