The fallout from UFC 245
The fallout from UFC 245
This past weekend UFC fans and casuals alike were treated to a special event. I do think that UFC 235 and UFC 244 have been two of the better cards we've had this year, but that's an article for another day. UFC 245 it was an amazing card that definitely will have an impact on the near future of the company. Have a little scroll down and tell me what you think as I do what I can to hopefully bring some clarity to some of the questions in a few of the UFC's divisions and provide some ideas for fights in 2020.
Why did Urijah Faber bother?
The California Kid will always be a favourite of mine at heart. For those of us who are historians, we'll remember the early WEC days when he was the best 145 lb fighter in the world. Enter Jose Aldo. 3 years removed from his retirement, Faber returned to the cage to fight one of the scariest contenders in the 135 lb division and got his lunch eaten. Petr Yan was a super high risk reward fight that Faber probably should have thought twice, three times then another nine times before saying yes. He was KO'd early in the third round after taking a lot punishment in the 2nd, after Yan spent the 1st stalking him and setting him up for slaughter. As MMA fans we don't think any less of Faber after that fight. His service to the sport will never be forgotten or ignored. It's time for him to hang them up for good this time.
Can anyone stop Nunes? And if so, who?
Okay so one of MMA's givens is that Amanda Nunes is the greatest female fighter in the history of the sport. From skill set to her body list to her accolades, there can be no argument. On Saturday night she extended her UFC win streak to 10 in an affair against Germaine de Randamie that for the most part, lacked entertainment. Now I for one am a big fan of seeing dominant grappling, but when a fighter has near enough 17 minutes of control time on the ground and her opponent has no marks or cuts to show for it, we have a problem. Either way, Nunes did what she had to do against a very dangerous opponent and added another notch to her belt. No one has been able to beat Nunes since she was stopped by Cat Zingano in 2014. Valentina Shevchenko has come close since, twice, actually winning their second fight in my opinion. So... what's my solution for the Amanda Nunes problem? Make her fight Bullet Shevchenko one more time. I find it hard to believe that there's a woman on Earth who can beat her three times, even if that woman is Amanda Nunes.
Max vs Volk 2?
I'm almost always of the mind set that dominant champions should get their re matches as soon as possible whenever they lose their strap. That's why I had no issues with Stipe sitting out for a year and waiting for his re match with DC. Now I've had this article planned for a while and I expected to get on here and start spreading propaganda about Max. But that fight made me realise that it was too soon to crown him as top 5 ever pound for pound let alone the greatest FW ever (Sorry Jose). Max was out worked by Alexander the Great, who took advantage of Max's tendency to start fights slow and his unwillingness or inability to check and/or avoid leg kicks. I had it 48-47 for Volk, Max did come on strong towards the end of the contest but it was too little too late. It's been a long 2019 for Max. He's had two 5 round fights where he took a lot of damage either side of a relatively comfortable match against Frankie Edgar, which went the distance too mind you. Max needs to go away and relax for a few months. Once he's back he should get straight on the phone to Dana to set up a re match for the summer, which I'm sure Volkanovski will accept.
Make his jaw great again.
Kamaru Usman did the world a favour by beating Colby Covington, breaking his jaw for good measure. The fight itself was no where near what I was expecting, neither one of them even attempted a take down. Stand and Bang. Two guys who have a real life dislike for each other having a proper fist fight to see who's who. I had it down as 2-2 going into the 5th, but as those of you watching the broadcast would have heard, one of the clueless judges had Colby up 3-1, so I guess it was a good thing that Usman got the stoppage when he did. I don't want to see an instant re match. Colby Covington is an attention seeking, entitled brat who couldn't back up his chat. So what do I think should be next for him? Tyron Woodley. The champion on the other hand looks like he can beat anyone in the division. So the company should go about their business and do whatever they can to make sure they pick the correct opponent for him. My solution? Gamebred Masvidal vs Leon Edwards in March/April 2020, the winner fights Usman for the strap in Autumn of the same year.
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Written by @AtlaslaMaquina on Twitter.
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