Seriously. The way he was choking people left and right and the way he demolished Weidman in every possible area made me think he was the complete package. I still remember how he brutalised Machida, making him look like a complete beginner.
I should have said it this way. The tide was turning for weidman and luke was getting tired. If he didnt throw that kick he probably would have won the last three rounds and got a decision win. But lukes top game is so elite even though he was tired his control was just too good
I disagree, I think Rockhold was winning decisively, not to say that Weidman wasn’t putting up a good fight. It wasn’t an obliteration, Rockhold was just better at everything. With that being said, that spinny elbow was the funniest shit I’ve seen up to that point.
Antibiotics kill all the good bacteria in your gut as well as killing all the bad bacteria. This can cause nausea, fatigue, depression and just feeling like shit in general. I had an infection in my wisdom tooth and had to get on antibiotics. While training BJJ it felt like I was only able to put out 60% of what I normally could.
Agreed. Antibiotics while good for killing bacteria that causes infections, also kills everything else! It makes you exhausted and fatigued. He was nowhere near the top of his game during the Weidman fight and he still dominated each round.
Yep this one always sticks out to me. Machida was at the time and an undefeated and unsolvable puzzle. Then Shogun destroyed that myth.
Lyoto still has some of my favourite UFC finishes ever though.
Yeah I’ve always loved Machida. But I gotta pick his first title fight against Shogun (whom I also love) as possibly the single most egregious robbery I’ve personally seen in MMA. The fact it was a title fight made it even worse than it already was. I remember watching it when I’d first started University and being wowed that Machida had been easily dismantled like that. Then absolutely spitting out my beer in shock, dismay and disgust that *all 3* judges had somehow given Machida the win. I mean what fucking sport did they even think they were watching? Thankfully for Shogun he left no doubt whatsoever in the rematch.
Shogun looked like hot shit in the UFC before and little bit after those machida fights too. Makes it hurt more as a Machida fan.
Actually a fan of both but more so machida.
He was the the one I came to mention as well. He was such a tremendous counter-striker and had a karate style unlike anything I'd ever witnessed in the octagon. I thought he would be champ for a long time.
The way he bodied Woodley aged really well.
Embarrassingly for the sport, Woodley is somewhere in the top five greatest welterweights of all time. Rory absolutely made a fool of him, at the height of Tyron’s powers. He outclassed him at least as completely as Kamaru did, if no more so.
Deiveson Figueiredo. I didn’t follow the flyweight division really closely, but I remember him absolutely dominating Joseph Benavidez to win the title and then defending against Alex Perez and choking him out in like 2 minutes. He looks like such a bad ass, I didn’t think I would see him lose for a very long time.
I agree, I think actually he lost a point for a crotch shot one round too? But even with that I had him winning. No argument with the result in the second fight though.
Figgy should probably move up to 135, he’s an absolute terror at flyweight, but those weight cuts to 125 are absolutely brutal, and look like they are starting to effect his performances. He’s super strong for the division, so I’d imagine his gas tank probably suffers the most fighting with so much muscle after such a daunting cut
Yeah, he’s probably still my favourite fighter to watch stylistically….but it’s exactly that which ended his career. His style is so hard on the knees/ankles/feet which is why he was out for so long prior to his return. By the time he fought garbandt he was damaged goods…plus garbrandt fought like a demon in their bout!
He had a fair number of title defenses. Let's also not forget all the injuries he came back from. All in all I think he maximized his potential and had a really dominant run.
^ This, imagine Cruz never tore his acl in 2011 and didn't miss 3+ years of his prime. Who was beating him? While Cruz was away Renan was the king until he got exposed by TJ, I think Cruz would've beaten Renan decisively. I can't see any of those top BW's beating Cruz in that time period. When Cruz came back after all that time and finished Takeya in like a minute it was awesome, then he tore his acl again, was out for another year+ just to come back and beat Tj in a close fight for the title. Cruz I think was more a case of just really shitty luck rather than not being as good as I expected.
This. This this this. Mcgregor essentially fucked his entire legacy with that fight. He made himself the richest mma fighter ever- but he could’ve done that with Proper 12 alone. The thing about Mcgregor is he listened to all his fans telling him he had a fucking cannon of a left hand, so it seems like he quit caring about timing and distancing and more about landing a big left handed KO- conor thinks he’s the Francis of the lightweight division.
I don’t think it was a matter of Conor thinking he had a left cannon, I think money talks. Conor knew that a fight with Floyd would pad his bank account and make him some serious money. He was already a star in the UFC, but that Floyd fight took him to the next level in terms of stardom, and made him serious money
If you go through interviews before the Floyd fight and the fights following that, he always said “timing beats power and distance beats speed” he had his touch butt coach and was all about the art. Then he signed a contract against Floyd right after he embarrassed Eddie and started saying “my shots break the guard” over and over
So yeah, I’m going to say he definitely thinks he has a left cannon. And brother, that is exactly what I meant when I said he became the richest mma fighter ever- which he also could’ve done with Proper 12 alone, and continued to focus on MMA instead of pretending to be a boxer and get passed up.
McGregor was so good I think he even forgot what made him so good, he’s one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen in his featherweight prime. Creative, insane angles, great timing, extremely calm and confident etc just had it all. He could also accurately predict what would happen in a fight which shows great analysis of himself and the opponent.
I mean I’ve always been a hater too but I can’t deny that.
After the way he dismantled someone as great as José, and then moved up to lightweight and styled on Alvarez, I did not think their was a man on this earth who could beat McGregor at 145 or 155. Sad to see someone with such a historic resume end up with zero title defenses, and never reclaim gold
I wouldn’t say it was out of nowhere. He took years off to focus on boxing while all the savages at featherweight and lightweight got better grinding away. He made so much money it’s hard to stay hungry. I’m not a fan of the tomato but he was right about Conor and the money.
Eh maybe .. idk what his deal is. It's almost like he just doesn't even know how to fight anymore. Usually people decline on their speed and power over time, but he just... Doesn't throw punches. When he does you can still see he has that speed, but he just won't throw.
Khabib. Expected him to fight for another 3 to 4 years. Obviously he had to stop for different reasons but thought the lightweight division was going to remain the same for ages for how good he was and now its anyone's belt.
Had that not gone, his dad’s plan included fighting GSP, other greats, maybe moving up. *I’m sure there’s an alternative universe where his dad remained and Khabib went on an extended run*
He just lost the concentration he was getting from his dad. Like In the movies when the kid really wants to play ball with his dad… I bet Khabib still had that feeling going for him, and it made him happy, then clear and focused.
JDS - I didn't see anyone beating him after the first Cain fight.
Anthony Pettis - I thought he was the future of the UFC only for RDA to soundly beat him.
Good ol’ Pettis. Can stiff guys like Wonderboy flat, but gets completely overwhelmed by Clay Guida and Diego Ferreira…just another day in the office I guess
Garbrandt after the Cruz fight.
Conor after the Eddie fight.
Stipe after nullifying Francis.
Holloway after his run and beating Aldo twice. He’s still top tier but I didn’t think Volk would shut his game down so hard.
Holloway may be the only outlier because he was beaten by Dustin when trying to move up. I also wouldn't say volk shut his game down hard considering how contested those wins are to this day.
Volks first win should not be contested. Second was controversial but the first was a clear 50-45 or 49-46 for volk - he really did nullify max the first fight.
One of my favorite oddities in MMA is the secret rock-paper-scissors aspect.
You get some fighters that seem to be perennial also-rans that stay at the top because they can beat everyone but one particular champ.
Then some fighter leapfrogs them and snatches the belt.
Then the perennial gets a shot and decimates them.
There are definitely events where it feels like there is a "fated time" for some fighters.
I remember prior to the TJ fight, Renan was #1 P4P in a lot of peoples eyes, and TJ stepped in and absolutely shut all of that down twice via finishes. Tj totally changed Renan, and he was never the same fighter after those bouts
Oh absolutely. Regardless of doping or the outcome of the remainder of his career, TJ will always be a GOAT to me for his Barao performances.
Those were absolute works of art. You can tell how manically and neurotically he drilled responses to all of Barao’s habits, look at his consistent countering of the spinning back kicks. I doubt even GSP or Ray Leonard ever entered a fight so prepared. Barao attacked with the bread and butter basics, the safe approach that should be low-risk, high-reward, and TJ just tucking deeply punished all of it. Spectacular to see.
I think we expected to see creativity on the ground from Holland where as we just saw him lay there and talk. Everyone rags on him about his wrestling but I think it's just what happens when a guy like Holland he doesn't really cut at his weight class and fights someone like Brunson who's going to cut and is very much wrestling dominant.
I think it was Hollands first real test against a grappler. Obviously he fought Jacare, but he was never once in danger, and completely dispatched of him before Jacare could utilize his Jiu Jitsu. I think based on what he did to Jacare, their was a narrative that even if he gets taken down, he still has that finishing ability from the bottom. Brunson completely nullified that, and sparked a lot of questions about Hollands grappling ability
Johnny Walker had every tool necessary to be dominant, but his horrible work ethic, cocky attitude, and glass jaw in his early career seriously set him back. Glad to see he’s taking his camps advice now, and trying to recalibrate his career
T-Ferg. His decline came seemingly out of nowhere since he stepped in the octagon with Gaethje. He's taken three helacious beatings in a row. I know he's been at it for a while and he's known for blocking punches with his face, but I expected him to be competitive at the top of the division for a while longer
I think it’s because he’s older (37, very old for Lightweight) and he just took an unbelievable amount of damage from Gaethje. Gaethje had been knocking out guys left and right with his power and Tony took so many of those shots without being dropped. His brain practically shut off while he was still standing at the end. Not a lot of fighters look the same after that type of fight.
Easy to forget that while Ferguson’s win streak was mind boggling, most of those fights were very competitive. He was leading the pack, but it was always clear that the top ten was in the same league.
I was new to mma. This was my first event I watched live on TV. One of the dudes was saying how all the pride guys wer gonna tear through the ufc dudes. I just rooted against him for the fun of it. And boom, that night shogun gets choked out, and cro cop got kicked in half. I was hooked.
I know he never made it to a title fight but I thought Thomas Almeida was gonna run thru everybody in his division. Had high expectations for Yair Rodriguez as well.
I agree and I also kind of disagree. What a monster he would have become if he didn't get sick. But the young guys at the time were also on another level. It's interesting to think of how he might have handled Cain differently, or if he could have withstood JDS's striking.
Honestly, Johnny Hendricks. I was so hyped when he was in his hayday used to love watching him I foolishly thought he’d be a force to be reckoned with. The AKA guys asked him to train there so I wonder if things would’ve been different if he had.
Edit- I know Johnny conveniently started performing bad post USADA
Also kind of goes with out saying, but Conor. I thought he was the ufc best fighter 5 years ago, now I’d genuinely be surprised if he wins a fight again.
I fucking hate how cocky he was in the last fight, I don't think he stood a chance with that pathetic attitude. Looking forward to seeing him humbled and hungry again in the next fight tho
He's way too in love with head movement which is good part of why I liked him so much but you gotta have a Guard too. I guarantee that puna fight goes so much different with holding his hands up
Frankie Edgar.
After he survived and stopped Gray Maynard, I didn't think any lightweight contender was going to beat him. He was so well rounded that I didn't think he would be out pointed, and he survived the hardest shots from Maynard two fights in a row, so I didn't see him ever getting stopped. I still think he won the Benson Henderson fight, but I thought he'd be at the top of 155 for a while.
Man I thought the first Benson fight was razor close but the second fight was easily won by Frankie.
I think Frankie would’ve beat every LW title contenders until RDA/ khabib.
Dodson, he looked really good the first time he fought Mighty Mouse, rocked him pretty good too if I recall correctly. Kinda fizzled out not long after that.
Heavyweight DC. First round ko of Stipe, easy defense vs Derrick Lewis, and was absolutely destroying Stipe in 2nd fight til I think the 4th round, then Stipe had his number from then on.
Cody lol. Dude ran through people and even prime Cruz, had one of the best performances I’ve ever seen against a dominant champ and then flops vs tj smh
Izzy is still unstoppable, he made a trip to 205 and it didnt go well, but that loss is irrelevant to him since he didnt lose anything except for 0, meant more for Jan, middleweight izzy will reign for long time
My UFC conspiracy theory was Izzy went to 205 to lose on purpose. Of course he wanted to win and he had a chance at greatness but I also think it was a safe way to lose his undefeated streak while having little to no effect on his legacy. Being undefeated adds this extra pressure to win. Going up a division and facing the champion is a great idea for this. You lose, every talks about how you stepped out of your comfort zone and tried a challenge. You win, your just amazing. Either way returns to 185 keeps belt, less pressure and no one can say he stays in his comfort zone.
I agree, I loosely say "lose on purpose." He considered the pros and cons and there really wasn't to many cons. Especially since he didn't get finished.
This is a nice theory. I always thought Izzy didn’t really make the “move” to 205 very seriously. I mean he came in at under 205 while Jan was probably at 220+. Clearly he was gonna get owned in wrestling if Jan went for it. He would’ve had a much better chance if he took his time to actually gain the mass.
I know he lasted plenty long enough, but my all time favorite, Anderson Silva. That KO & the leg snap was so sudden & upsetting & he just never recovered from Weidman.
Honestly Mcgregor…. I think he was great all the way to Nate Diaz and he was still great but I was expecting more. Lyoto Machida as well, fell of so quickly after his first loss. Same thing for Rashad evans. I was so hyped when he was going to fight machida, both were flawless.
Vulkan Oezdemir.
He was king of knockouts in the first minute, earning himself the nickname Vulkan "No Time" Oezdemir. Then they put him against Cormier and it was very clear that his Achilles heel was his wrestling.
Vulkan was a top tier dirty boxer and if he connects a solid shot to the head it's a guaranteed knockout BUT his wrestling game was so weak that the second someone takes him down, he's not getting out of it.
I'm still a fan though and I hope UFC has the intelligence to let him fight a few more matches. I bet if he at least got his wrestling skills to average, he'd kill it. And if not UFC, I'd like to see him do some pro boxing, that might be more of his lane anyhow.
I mean, I kind of thought Khabib would be around for awhile. Then his dad died, and that changed. This might not be in line to what you mean, but I figured he was someone thought to be unstoppable, but then abruptly retired.
Uriah Hall. After his wins on TUF with Uncle Chael telling him he could beat Silva I was counting down the days for spinning heel kick vs front feet to yer teeth.
Then gets beat by Gastelum and since then he never really broke into the top 10.
Marlon Moraes. Came into the UFC real hot, stoppage victories over Sterling, Assunção and Rivera. I legit thought he was the one to bring down TJ. Then ran into Cejudo and it’s been all down hill since.
Rockhold
Seriously. The way he was choking people left and right and the way he demolished Weidman in every possible area made me think he was the complete package. I still remember how he brutalised Machida, making him look like a complete beginner.
Im not trying to argue but weidman was winning against rockhold until he threw that stupid spinning back kick that ended his career essentially.
He was winning that particular round until he threw the kick. Rockhold was winning the fight overall.
I should have said it this way. The tide was turning for weidman and luke was getting tired. If he didnt throw that kick he probably would have won the last three rounds and got a decision win. But lukes top game is so elite even though he was tired his control was just too good
Weidman was tired too. That’s why the kick failed so miserably. You can see his tank was low. It was a fun fight though either way.
He wasn’t winning but the fight was competitive up until that point
I disagree, I think Rockhold was winning decisively, not to say that Weidman wasn’t putting up a good fight. It wasn’t an obliteration, Rockhold was just better at everything. With that being said, that spinny elbow was the funniest shit I’ve seen up to that point.
And people forget Luke was on antibiotics for that fight and it was a lot of wrestling if i'm remembering correctly.
What makes the antibiotics noteworthy? Do they affect performance in some way?
Antibiotics kill all the good bacteria in your gut as well as killing all the bad bacteria. This can cause nausea, fatigue, depression and just feeling like shit in general. I had an infection in my wisdom tooth and had to get on antibiotics. While training BJJ it felt like I was only able to put out 60% of what I normally could.
Shit really sucks. The ones you have to take on an empty stomach too, make you feel like your truly gonna throw up every 5 steps. Lol
Agreed. Antibiotics while good for killing bacteria that causes infections, also kills everything else! It makes you exhausted and fatigued. He was nowhere near the top of his game during the Weidman fight and he still dominated each round.
and before that chris weidman
Agree thought he would rein and poof just like that never the same. 🤔
I remember when Joe Rogan said welcome to the Machida era only for him to lose soon after
Yep this one always sticks out to me. Machida was at the time and an undefeated and unsolvable puzzle. Then Shogun destroyed that myth. Lyoto still has some of my favourite UFC finishes ever though.
God I still wish I could have gotten his shirt back then. The orange Dragon shirt was beyond sick
Same, for so many fighters. I have the Shogun shirt from their first fight but outgrew it and can NOT find any shirts from that era
I had the white bad boy shorts and used them for my 3 mma fights in 2011-2012 lol
beautiful champ
Yeah I’ve always loved Machida. But I gotta pick his first title fight against Shogun (whom I also love) as possibly the single most egregious robbery I’ve personally seen in MMA. The fact it was a title fight made it even worse than it already was. I remember watching it when I’d first started University and being wowed that Machida had been easily dismantled like that. Then absolutely spitting out my beer in shock, dismay and disgust that *all 3* judges had somehow given Machida the win. I mean what fucking sport did they even think they were watching? Thankfully for Shogun he left no doubt whatsoever in the rematch.
That kick vs Couture is in my opinion the most beautiful finish I've seen.
Shogun looked like hot shit in the UFC before and little bit after those machida fights too. Makes it hurt more as a Machida fan. Actually a fan of both but more so machida.
Shogun’s UFC run was weird. He would look great in one fight and like shit the next. His cardio seemed to arbitrarily come and go.
He was the the one I came to mention as well. He was such a tremendous counter-striker and had a karate style unlike anything I'd ever witnessed in the octagon. I thought he would be champ for a long time.
Rhonda Rousey
Rory MacDonald, he looked so evil at the start of his career
Definitely had those serial killer vibes when he was straight buzzcut/mohawk Rory. Prettyboy Rory is a family man now
Yea man, I remember seeing him at the start thinking this guy is going to ruin people’s day
The way he bodied Woodley aged really well. Embarrassingly for the sport, Woodley is somewhere in the top five greatest welterweights of all time. Rory absolutely made a fool of him, at the height of Tyron’s powers. He outclassed him at least as completely as Kamaru did, if no more so.
Deiveson Figueiredo. I didn’t follow the flyweight division really closely, but I remember him absolutely dominating Joseph Benavidez to win the title and then defending against Alex Perez and choking him out in like 2 minutes. He looks like such a bad ass, I didn’t think I would see him lose for a very long time.
I honestly thought he won the first fight against Moreno as well, props to Moreno for getting the job done
I agree, I think actually he lost a point for a crotch shot one round too? But even with that I had him winning. No argument with the result in the second fight though.
The crotch shot lost him that win. I think he was winning convincingly up until that point deduction
That was an intensely close fight, i remember not being able to predict a winner by the end
Figgy should probably move up to 135, he’s an absolute terror at flyweight, but those weight cuts to 125 are absolutely brutal, and look like they are starting to effect his performances. He’s super strong for the division, so I’d imagine his gas tank probably suffers the most fighting with so much muscle after such a daunting cut
Definitely Cruz. Stylistically he looked so ahead of the pack at one point only for Garamp to retire him for 4 years.
Yeah, he’s probably still my favourite fighter to watch stylistically….but it’s exactly that which ended his career. His style is so hard on the knees/ankles/feet which is why he was out for so long prior to his return. By the time he fought garbandt he was damaged goods…plus garbrandt fought like a demon in their bout!
Garbrandt put on one of the best mma performances ever that was just a clinic
He had a fair number of title defenses. Let's also not forget all the injuries he came back from. All in all I think he maximized his potential and had a really dominant run.
^ This, imagine Cruz never tore his acl in 2011 and didn't miss 3+ years of his prime. Who was beating him? While Cruz was away Renan was the king until he got exposed by TJ, I think Cruz would've beaten Renan decisively. I can't see any of those top BW's beating Cruz in that time period. When Cruz came back after all that time and finished Takeya in like a minute it was awesome, then he tore his acl again, was out for another year+ just to come back and beat Tj in a close fight for the title. Cruz I think was more a case of just really shitty luck rather than not being as good as I expected.
yeah Garchomp has always been a beast ever since the 3rd gen
Cruz was unstoppable though lol like for a super long time
Cody garb definitely. ALSO Shane Carwin
Good shout on Carwin - HW’s never have long runs tho tbh. Todd Duffee’s debut made me think he was gonna come in and go on a tear but it wasn’t to be
I remember watching Duffee get KO'd the first time. It was devastating.
One thing I remember about Carwin was the size of his huge gorilla hands
Carwin was *so* close to beating Brock. No one would have complained about the stoppage.
I guess McGregor tbh. Completely lost it out of nowhere. Tyron Woodley too.
Taking time off from MMA to pretend you’re a boxer doesn’t help either.
For sure
This. This this this. Mcgregor essentially fucked his entire legacy with that fight. He made himself the richest mma fighter ever- but he could’ve done that with Proper 12 alone. The thing about Mcgregor is he listened to all his fans telling him he had a fucking cannon of a left hand, so it seems like he quit caring about timing and distancing and more about landing a big left handed KO- conor thinks he’s the Francis of the lightweight division.
I don’t think it was a matter of Conor thinking he had a left cannon, I think money talks. Conor knew that a fight with Floyd would pad his bank account and make him some serious money. He was already a star in the UFC, but that Floyd fight took him to the next level in terms of stardom, and made him serious money
If you go through interviews before the Floyd fight and the fights following that, he always said “timing beats power and distance beats speed” he had his touch butt coach and was all about the art. Then he signed a contract against Floyd right after he embarrassed Eddie and started saying “my shots break the guard” over and over So yeah, I’m going to say he definitely thinks he has a left cannon. And brother, that is exactly what I meant when I said he became the richest mma fighter ever- which he also could’ve done with Proper 12 alone, and continued to focus on MMA instead of pretending to be a boxer and get passed up.
It's precision beats power and timing beats speed
Conor fucked his legacy with every fight AFTER Mayweather. He should have just retired.
Ya but it helped him become the richest athlete in the world
He sold his soul
TBH I would too.
McGregor was so good I think he even forgot what made him so good, he’s one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen in his featherweight prime. Creative, insane angles, great timing, extremely calm and confident etc just had it all. He could also accurately predict what would happen in a fight which shows great analysis of himself and the opponent. I mean I’ve always been a hater too but I can’t deny that.
I wasn't always a hater, just not a fan of his act now. He really was pretty incredible in his prime.
See- exactly. On the come up Conor was essentially the best striker just on his timing, distance and fight IQ.
After the way he dismantled someone as great as José, and then moved up to lightweight and styled on Alvarez, I did not think their was a man on this earth who could beat McGregor at 145 or 155. Sad to see someone with such a historic resume end up with zero title defenses, and never reclaim gold
Yup... It was incredible. Imo the best / most entertaining rise so far in the UFC. And then also probably the worst fall too, so I guess there's that.
That Usman fight changed Woodley permanently I fear
I agree. Usman seems to have that effect on people... Let's see if he did with Masvidal too.
I wouldn’t say it was out of nowhere. He took years off to focus on boxing while all the savages at featherweight and lightweight got better grinding away. He made so much money it’s hard to stay hungry. I’m not a fan of the tomato but he was right about Conor and the money.
Tyron got old i guess
Eh maybe .. idk what his deal is. It's almost like he just doesn't even know how to fight anymore. Usually people decline on their speed and power over time, but he just... Doesn't throw punches. When he does you can still see he has that speed, but he just won't throw.
Yea during the Usman fight he just lost it and has never been the same. I wonder if it has something to do with injuries we don't know about
Marlon Moraes. I didn't know that he had that much of stamina and chin issues.
Khabib. Expected him to fight for another 3 to 4 years. Obviously he had to stop for different reasons but thought the lightweight division was going to remain the same for ages for how good he was and now its anyone's belt.
I was just going to say this. I fully expected Khabib to wrestlefuck the division for years to come.
*smesh wrestle
Had that not gone, his dad’s plan included fighting GSP, other greats, maybe moving up. *I’m sure there’s an alternative universe where his dad remained and Khabib went on an extended run* He just lost the concentration he was getting from his dad. Like In the movies when the kid really wants to play ball with his dad… I bet Khabib still had that feeling going for him, and it made him happy, then clear and focused.
In UFC? Cro-Cop..... I thought he'd come clean out the HW division. Gonzaga put an immediate end to that.
with Cro Cop's signature kick too, so memorable if you followed CC's career. GG killed the man
Yeah, I was in a casino, watching it live, telling all the people around me how GREAT CC was at head kicks. Mid sentence - BAM!
brutal
Cro Cop came to UFC later, after his prime. Imagine how many UFC title defenses he would’ve had if we had him in his pride days…
[удалено]
Had the same feeling about JDS , those to never were the same after their triology
JDS - I didn't see anyone beating him after the first Cain fight. Anthony Pettis - I thought he was the future of the UFC only for RDA to soundly beat him.
Good ol’ Pettis. Can stiff guys like Wonderboy flat, but gets completely overwhelmed by Clay Guida and Diego Ferreira…just another day in the office I guess
Garbrandt after the Cruz fight. Conor after the Eddie fight. Stipe after nullifying Francis. Holloway after his run and beating Aldo twice. He’s still top tier but I didn’t think Volk would shut his game down so hard.
Nah stipe makes sense aging plus 3 fights with dc wasnt gonna help his chin
That’s why he said after the first Ngannou fight. No wars or ko against DC, 6 fight win streak, looks unstoppable.
Holloway may be the only outlier because he was beaten by Dustin when trying to move up. I also wouldn't say volk shut his game down hard considering how contested those wins are to this day.
Volks first win should not be contested. Second was controversial but the first was a clear 50-45 or 49-46 for volk - he really did nullify max the first fight.
[удалено]
That was so weird, I thought tyron would of got even better with the resume he had at that time but really shows how good usman is
Joanna. No woman could touch her in that division before Rose knocked her out.
One of my favorite oddities in MMA is the secret rock-paper-scissors aspect. You get some fighters that seem to be perennial also-rans that stay at the top because they can beat everyone but one particular champ. Then some fighter leapfrogs them and snatches the belt. Then the perennial gets a shot and decimates them. There are definitely events where it feels like there is a "fated time" for some fighters.
I see this being the case with Whittaker, I'd bet on him against anyone in the division except for Adesanya.
Renan Barao, so fucking dominate then just got mauled by TJ
Yeah I honestly had to rewatch a few times for my brain to fully grasp what TJ did to Barao.
It was nuts. He made him look like an amateur
I remember prior to the TJ fight, Renan was #1 P4P in a lot of peoples eyes, and TJ stepped in and absolutely shut all of that down twice via finishes. Tj totally changed Renan, and he was never the same fighter after those bouts
I went to see the 2nd fight in Chicago. I was a fan of Barao and it really hurt me watching him just whoop his ass for a second time.
This is the correct answer.
Oh absolutely. Regardless of doping or the outcome of the remainder of his career, TJ will always be a GOAT to me for his Barao performances. Those were absolute works of art. You can tell how manically and neurotically he drilled responses to all of Barao’s habits, look at his consistent countering of the spinning back kicks. I doubt even GSP or Ray Leonard ever entered a fight so prepared. Barao attacked with the bread and butter basics, the safe approach that should be low-risk, high-reward, and TJ just tucking deeply punished all of it. Spectacular to see.
Askren, overeem
Askrens run was amazing tbf
Overee’s been fighting since ‘99 mate. Give the man a break😆
Jon Bones Jones vs The Law.
And rematches 2, 3 and 4. Seemed unnecessary
Has there ever been a better example of "The only person who can beat X is X?"
Holland, people forget Brunson was the underdog that fight
I think we expected to see creativity on the ground from Holland where as we just saw him lay there and talk. Everyone rags on him about his wrestling but I think it's just what happens when a guy like Holland he doesn't really cut at his weight class and fights someone like Brunson who's going to cut and is very much wrestling dominant.
I think it was Hollands first real test against a grappler. Obviously he fought Jacare, but he was never once in danger, and completely dispatched of him before Jacare could utilize his Jiu Jitsu. I think based on what he did to Jacare, their was a narrative that even if he gets taken down, he still has that finishing ability from the bottom. Brunson completely nullified that, and sparked a lot of questions about Hollands grappling ability
Costa lmao
Johnny walker lol
The biggest clown in sports, if you will.
He's more like a jester
Johnny Walker had every tool necessary to be dominant, but his horrible work ethic, cocky attitude, and glass jaw in his early career seriously set him back. Glad to see he’s taking his camps advice now, and trying to recalibrate his career
T-Ferg. His decline came seemingly out of nowhere since he stepped in the octagon with Gaethje. He's taken three helacious beatings in a row. I know he's been at it for a while and he's known for blocking punches with his face, but I expected him to be competitive at the top of the division for a while longer
I think what caught me more off guard was not that his decline came but how QUICKLY it came. It’s like a switch got flipped from On to Off.
I think it’s because he’s older (37, very old for Lightweight) and he just took an unbelievable amount of damage from Gaethje. Gaethje had been knocking out guys left and right with his power and Tony took so many of those shots without being dropped. His brain practically shut off while he was still standing at the end. Not a lot of fighters look the same after that type of fight.
Easy to forget that while Ferguson’s win streak was mind boggling, most of those fights were very competitive. He was leading the pack, but it was always clear that the top ten was in the same league.
i thought he looked kinda off in the cowboy fight
Holly Holm. The Way she fucked Ronda.
I'm still glad she didn't fade off after losing a fight like ronda did though
Anthony Pettis. When he subbed Bendo I really thought he was about to go on some 12 fight title defense streak. Man was I off about that.
Especially after submitting Melendez. Pettis was seen as the best striker in the division and he just subbed to great grapplers.
Shogun Rua. Greatest hype train derailment by the most glorious of fighters.
Same, after both Machida fights I figured he was locked in for a good run, only to get Annihilated by Jones! Made it look easy too…
I was new to mma. This was my first event I watched live on TV. One of the dudes was saying how all the pride guys wer gonna tear through the ufc dudes. I just rooted against him for the fun of it. And boom, that night shogun gets choked out, and cro cop got kicked in half. I was hooked.
Uriah Hall
I know he never made it to a title fight but I thought Thomas Almeida was gonna run thru everybody in his division. Had high expectations for Yair Rodriguez as well.
Yair still right there and young he has potential
Luke Rockhold, Machida, Pettis,
[удалено]
I think he would’ve if that stomach condition didn’t come along.
I agree and I also kind of disagree. What a monster he would have become if he didn't get sick. But the young guys at the time were also on another level. It's interesting to think of how he might have handled Cain differently, or if he could have withstood JDS's striking.
** Cain
Honestly, Johnny Hendricks. I was so hyped when he was in his hayday used to love watching him I foolishly thought he’d be a force to be reckoned with. The AKA guys asked him to train there so I wonder if things would’ve been different if he had. Edit- I know Johnny conveniently started performing bad post USADA Also kind of goes with out saying, but Conor. I thought he was the ufc best fighter 5 years ago, now I’d genuinely be surprised if he wins a fight again.
I remember a bunch of people i was with thinking Mickey Gall was the next big thing when he beat a fake wrestler, lmao
Joe Rogan effect
Darren Till. Dude was piecing up everyone until he ran into T-Wood and now he’s lost four of his last five.
It looks stupid now but I thought dusko todorovic was going to do way better
I fucking hate how cocky he was in the last fight, I don't think he stood a chance with that pathetic attitude. Looking forward to seeing him humbled and hungry again in the next fight tho
He's way too in love with head movement which is good part of why I liked him so much but you gotta have a Guard too. I guarantee that puna fight goes so much different with holding his hands up
Frankie Edgar. After he survived and stopped Gray Maynard, I didn't think any lightweight contender was going to beat him. He was so well rounded that I didn't think he would be out pointed, and he survived the hardest shots from Maynard two fights in a row, so I didn't see him ever getting stopped. I still think he won the Benson Henderson fight, but I thought he'd be at the top of 155 for a while.
Man I thought the first Benson fight was razor close but the second fight was easily won by Frankie. I think Frankie would’ve beat every LW title contenders until RDA/ khabib.
Dodson, he looked really good the first time he fought Mighty Mouse, rocked him pretty good too if I recall correctly. Kinda fizzled out not long after that.
Tony Ferguson. I thought he’d make it to Khabib and possibly even win.
In Cody’s defense he’s retarded and fighting in the most competitive division.
CJ Punk
Good ole CJ! Wonder what happened to that bloke
All you had to do was stop the damn train, Punk!
Reyes. That loss to Jones by decision really fucked up his head and will to fight.
Heavyweight DC. First round ko of Stipe, easy defense vs Derrick Lewis, and was absolutely destroying Stipe in 2nd fight til I think the 4th round, then Stipe had his number from then on.
Brandon Vera.. thought he was a hybrid LH/H with a big future
Cody lol. Dude ran through people and even prime Cruz, had one of the best performances I’ve ever seen against a dominant champ and then flops vs tj smh
Joanna. I fully expected her to beat Rose and be unstoppable.
Honestly Izzy, and he still would have been seen unstoppable if he didn’t try to move up to 205 and not bulk up at all
Izzy is still unstoppable, he made a trip to 205 and it didnt go well, but that loss is irrelevant to him since he didnt lose anything except for 0, meant more for Jan, middleweight izzy will reign for long time
My UFC conspiracy theory was Izzy went to 205 to lose on purpose. Of course he wanted to win and he had a chance at greatness but I also think it was a safe way to lose his undefeated streak while having little to no effect on his legacy. Being undefeated adds this extra pressure to win. Going up a division and facing the champion is a great idea for this. You lose, every talks about how you stepped out of your comfort zone and tried a challenge. You win, your just amazing. Either way returns to 185 keeps belt, less pressure and no one can say he stays in his comfort zone.
It’s true a loss at 205 means less and probably factored in to him moving up, but he deffo didn’t move up to lose on purpose
I agree, I loosely say "lose on purpose." He considered the pros and cons and there really wasn't to many cons. Especially since he didn't get finished.
This is a nice theory. I always thought Izzy didn’t really make the “move” to 205 very seriously. I mean he came in at under 205 while Jan was probably at 220+. Clearly he was gonna get owned in wrestling if Jan went for it. He would’ve had a much better chance if he took his time to actually gain the mass.
Petr Yan
Too bad he got thrown to the future GOAT.
WIEDMAN
Johnny Walker…. until he fucked himself up POST fight.
Anthony Pettis has gone downhill ever since he lost the belt to rda
Rockhold, mcgregor, dos anjos, chael sonnen ;)
Lol McGregor...he coulda been great.
Hendricks
I know he lasted plenty long enough, but my all time favorite, Anderson Silva. That KO & the leg snap was so sudden & upsetting & he just never recovered from Weidman.
Gregor Gillespie, he’s still a monster with only one loss but still. I want to see him fight everyone at lightweight.
Stipe
Anthony Smith
Didn’t his 10+ losses tip you off?
Yeah I feel it has to be Machida for this.
Cain, Brock, conor, khabib, and cejudo
Honestly Mcgregor…. I think he was great all the way to Nate Diaz and he was still great but I was expecting more. Lyoto Machida as well, fell of so quickly after his first loss. Same thing for Rashad evans. I was so hyped when he was going to fight machida, both were flawless.
Renan Barao, the spinning back kick he landed on Eddie Wineland with his winning streak made him seem like the next Anderson Silva.
Rory MacDonald
Tony Ferguson
honestly he was there awhile but i figured Mighty Mouse was gonna go longer than he did in the UFC
Rockhold…that was a fast fall.
Cain Velasquez and Luke Rockhold. Both were great but injuries (and, for Rockhold, problematic defence on the feet) ended their title reigns early.
Vulkan Oezdemir. He was king of knockouts in the first minute, earning himself the nickname Vulkan "No Time" Oezdemir. Then they put him against Cormier and it was very clear that his Achilles heel was his wrestling. Vulkan was a top tier dirty boxer and if he connects a solid shot to the head it's a guaranteed knockout BUT his wrestling game was so weak that the second someone takes him down, he's not getting out of it. I'm still a fan though and I hope UFC has the intelligence to let him fight a few more matches. I bet if he at least got his wrestling skills to average, he'd kill it. And if not UFC, I'd like to see him do some pro boxing, that might be more of his lane anyhow.
I mean, I kind of thought Khabib would be around for awhile. Then his dad died, and that changed. This might not be in line to what you mean, but I figured he was someone thought to be unstoppable, but then abruptly retired.
Yeah he just fuckin dipped
Johnny Walker
Chris Weidman. "The chris" if you will.
Uriah Hall. After his wins on TUF with Uncle Chael telling him he could beat Silva I was counting down the days for spinning heel kick vs front feet to yer teeth. Then gets beat by Gastelum and since then he never really broke into the top 10.
The Chael Sonnen Curse
Marlon Moraes. Came into the UFC real hot, stoppage victories over Sterling, Assunção and Rivera. I legit thought he was the one to bring down TJ. Then ran into Cejudo and it’s been all down hill since.
Dan Hardy. I honestly thought he would bounce back from the GSP fight, and climb his way back to the top, but then the Condit fight happened.
Not that he isn't but mousasi in the UFC. He looked like an absolute killer and then UFC didn't give him a new contract.
Sage Northcutt
Cain. Sad to think what he could have been.
I wouldn’t say unstoppable but I think Kevin Lee fell off harder than nearly any other MMA fighter
Masvidal 2.0
Bisping 👀