UFC 223: The “Eagle” gets “Blessed”.

Update - CM charged with 3 counts of assault and 1 count criminal mischief.

His teammate Cian as well.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Yeah, once that modified chicken-wing lets go of a high-level grappler's arm, you're not gonna be able to hold them down with your center of mass above their shoulders. Still, nice to see something new. I haven't seen half of the executable submissions...keep them coming

It was too good to be true. Max wasn't cleared to fight -- he pulled a 'Khabib'! LOL.

I am looking to get a refund...slim-to-none chances but its a sunk cost. No way I am leaving this weather to watch a gazelle being tossed to a lion (Anthony Pettis is supposed to fight Khabib and DFW is saying it's for the LW strap).

So, Conor (wittingly, IMO, but possibly, unwittingly) stays the de facto champ-champ. Does anyone buy Dana selling Pettis as a legit contender? No. Max beat the brakes off him and sent him back to LW and he's only 2-5 in his last 7 fights. Sucks.

DFW is out of options, IMO. He zero stars. In 2016, McGregor's 3 fights outsold the 10 other PPVs...and because the marginal revenue product generated above 750,000 PPVs (that's to say, that the additional buys above 750K essentially has zero marginal cost -- his 3 events totalled the 10 other events but his 3 events were easily more profitable by many factors) is factors more profitable, it's safe to say that this mess only increases McGregor's leverage...Khabib is gonna be considered a 'paper champ'. Not even the hardcores are gonna recognize him as the champ by beating a can in Pettis (believe me, he's a can). Ugh.

Hope you have a good weekend. I'll drop in and see what people thought of Rose - Joanna.

I'm out.

a reply to: BeefNoMeat

What?
Max is not fighting now?
At work so I can't check

a reply to: TinySickTears

Yeah, I just found out myself. Apparently the NY Athletic Commission pulled him. Al Iaquinta is stepping in now to fight Khabib. However, Iaquinta weighed 0.2 pounds over the limit so he can't win the title even if he wins.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

dont even know who the hell that is

just got home

let me go look into him to see how bad i think khabib is going to smash him

i khabib still fighting for the belt

a reply to: TinySickTears

Yeah, it's still a title fight for Khabib since he made weight (I think at 154.5 lbs). Here's some of Al's highlights: He's on a 5 fight win streak with 4 of the 5 being KOs/TKOs but I've still never watched a full fight from him.

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Al knocked out Khabib and the 155lb belt was vacant.

ETA: For what it's worth, he's beaten Masvidal and Kevin Lee, both by decision.

THUG ROSE, THUG ROSE, THUG ROSE, THUG ROSE....!!!!!

originally posted by: BeefNoMeat
THUG ROSE, THUG ROSE, THUG ROSE, THUG ROSE....!!!!!

beat Joanna standing... good for her

people already talking # about Khabib. i think he did great again.
the only reason he didnt dominate the 3rd and 4th cause he was not trying to go down.

he said he was watching ali and frazier vids and wanted to try his jab and get time in the 4th and 4th for experience.

he called his dad and dad was pissed so thats probably not going to happen again.

zabit magomedsharipov impressed the hell out of me.

that dude is nasty as #. i want to see more from him.

he broke his hand before the fight and still #ed that dude up.

fan of him

a reply to: TinySickTears

Don't worry about the critics. Khabib won dominantly and that's all that matters. 50-44, 50-43, 50-43.

GSP made a career out of out grappling & jabbing his opponents to decision victories. Yet many people still consider him the GOAT. He won something like 8 of 9 title defenses with decisions and was one of the most notorious "lay and pray" fighters out there. I respect GSP for his title defenses and the way he carries himself (seems like a cool dude), but I literally stopped watching his fights because of his style change after the Serra rematch.

...ok, but I did watch his fight against Bisping & I'd watch him against Woodley, Khabib, or Conor lol. So maybe it's not that bad after all. Either way, Khabib's the champ now & that's all that really matters in that division.

i want to see khabib vs ben askren but that will never happen.

originally posted by: TinySickTears
i want to see khabib vs ben askren but that will never happen.

A LOT of die-hards want it too. Dana should swallow his pride and get Funky in. Brock Lesnar lol. Bones?! They get second chances for being the antithesis of 'sport' or 'fair fights' and Askren's #ty attitude gets him shunned for life. There's no logic in there at all.

originally posted by: Kandinsky

originally posted by: TinySickTears
i want to see khabib vs ben askren but that will never happen.

A LOT of die-hards want it too. Dana should swallow his pride and get Funky in. Brock Lesnar lol. Bones?! They get second chances for being the antithesis of 'sport' or 'fair fights' and Askren's #ty attitude gets him shunned for life. There's no logic in there at all.

There's logic to it. Askren's on tape insulting Dana White, saying one of the perks of fighting in One is not having to work for Dana, and saying that even if the UFC paid him 3 times what he was getting in One, he still doesn't think he'd do it because of Dana. That kind of seals the deal, don't you think? There's no way the UFC is choosing Askren over Dana.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Askren upped his #-talking game *after* Dana rejected him. He was reactionary. Fair enough, he wasn't helping himself *before* that moment either.

a reply to: Kandinsky

How far back do you want to go? Ben & Dana have been publicly feuding for a long time. That bridge is burnt and the ashes have long since scattered in the wind.

Don't forget that the only point I'm making is that there's definitely logic to why we'll probably never see Ben in the UFC. Ben himself said in this controversial 2014 interview that if he "can make a good living and retire happy, then it's a win for me. I don't necessarily need to make their organization crumble to beat him" when referring to Dana White and the UFC.
Dana responded with this roughly a week later (HERE):

"The reality is, he claims that this is where he wants to fight, but the kid won't shut his mouth," White said. "If he's that happy over in Asia, and that organization is doing so well, then what the hell is he talking about me for. If your life is so great, you love where you're fighting and that Asian organization is just growing leaps and bounds by the day, then it sounds like everything is going great. If everything is going your way, then why are you talking about me, and why are you concerned about what is going on with the UFC. Do your thing."

Remember, I'm just pointing out why it's perfectly logical why we won't see Askren fighting Khabib. I genuinely think Askren's talked himself out of any possible deal with the UFC. Simply put, they don't need him and he apparently doesn't need them. Some things just aren't meant to be though I'd personally root for Khabib if they fought at 170 anyway.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Amen to that! I thought I was watching a Max Holloway clone...dude is top-level and will put the hurt on a lot of featherweights. And yeah, I heard the same thing about breaking his hand before the fight -- a two-fisted Magomedsharipov?? FW division, you've been warned (plus, TST is a fan and that speaks volumes)!

Hope you had a good weekend

ETA: Re: Askren/UFC -- It's a damn shame DFW can't get in a room with Askren and put aside their pissing contest, hammering out a 2-3 fight deal, and give the hardcore fans a taste of Funky in the Octagon. Nate Marquardt cost Dana a main event (Charlie Brenneman stepped in and fought Story, but it was an upset and not a fight worth watching), Jon Jones cost him a whole card...there are several instances where fighters made it onto Dana's sh#tlist by costing him money, but the Askren personal beef -- and Askren's subsequent denial into the organization -- is beyond wrong-headed and is money in the bank. Askren isn't going to pull in any casuals his first go-round, but Ben is a clever and articulate guy that could be promoted/marketed with his undefeated record. It's just plain stupid and petty. Also, Askren is Roofus product

a reply to: BeefNoMeat

Askren is a black belt and jiu jitsu too. Not sure if he got his black from Marcelo but I'm pretty sure he got his purple from him

a reply to: enlightenedservant

The way I remember it was Askren was getting a lot of push from the MMA fighter community. It was obvious he'd move to UFC to cement his status and was expected to clear out the division. At the same time, there was also criticism that his style wouldn't suit UFC and especially PPVs.

In interviews he was also assuming he'd go to UFC and said/posted some negative comments about DW. That was the point when the wheels came off. Dana's pride (imo) was bruised by the lack of respect. There was no pretence that Askren would be grateful for the move.

Askren made his move from Belator and was basically cock-blocked by Dana with the put down that he should go and prove himself elsewhere first.

You've taken me literally on the 'no logic' comment. I didn't literally mean Dana had no logic. I meant in the sense of it being a stupid move on his part. Two prideful men screwed themselves out of a fortune through arrogance. I believe they've both regretted it...

a reply to: Kandinsky

No worries, man. It's just conversation.


I guess my overall feeling is that neither the UFC nor Askren need each other so neither will budge. And neither Dana nor Askren are willing to put their pride to the side to make this specific deal happen.

However, at least Dana's shown with Couture, Tito and the Diaz brothers (and probably a lot of others) that he's willing to make a deal with people he dislikes and with people who've disrespected him. Dana's the same dude who agreed to a contract stipulation with Tito where he would literally box him if Tito would sign the contract. He even let Nate "Stockton slap" him on film to get the Conor rematch finalized. He's even shown that he's willing to let people continue to headline fight cards after they've routinely pulled out of (or been pulled out of) big time fights.

But Askren just won't shut up. How much sense does it make to keep badmouthing a potential employer? If his fans really want to see him in the UFC, maybe they should message him on social media and tell him to put his pride to the side and make up w/Dana. I actually think it's Askren who doesn't really want the deal. Dana's not going to beg him and that's what it seems that Askren really wants.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Seems as if we have the same take concerning Askren-White.

One thing:

Dana's the same dude who agreed to a contract stipulation with Tito where he would literally box him if Tito would sign the contract.

This is a big misnomer, er, an urban legend. Tito signed the contract with said clause, however, Tito decided against enforcing the contract stipulation (I'd wager DFW told him it's not in his best financial interest to do so), not the other way around as you asserted.