Outside Source
The UFC is actually taking a weekend off, which means it’s time for Bellator to put up the tentpoles and raise the circus tent. Let’s get right into another edition of Fightweets.
Lightweight golden age
@MBrewer116: What’s next Kevin Lee: Khabib or Poirier?
Okay, so I’m only going to post this specific question, but I’ve gotten about two dozen different versions of potential next fights among the best in the UFC lightweight division over the past three weeks.
Just as a quick review: In that time, over three straight cards, we’ve gotten Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC title win over Al Iaquinta at UFC 223, Dustin Poirier’s Fight of the Year contender against Justin Gaethje at UFC on FOX 29, then Kevin Lee’s superb performance in his fifth-round victory over Edson Barboza at UFC Atlantic City.
Oh, we also had Conor McGregor throw a dolly through a van window, which injured Michael Chiesa and kept him out of what was looking like a fun fight with Anthony Pettis, and Paul Felder lost his booking with Iaquinta when Iaquinta took the Khabib fight, only to have Dan Hooker turn around and ask Felder to fight when Felder was interviewing him at UFC Atlantic City.
And we had those on the sidelines chime in, from Tony Ferguson to Eddie Alvarez to Nate Diaz.
If it wasn’t clear before the recent set of fight cards, it is now: We’re living in the lightweight golden age. The 155-pound class has been one of the sport’s deepest for years, but now it’s at a point where we very well might be witnessing the greatest collection of talent in a single division in the history of the sport.
The only comparison that jumps to mind is the UFC light heavyweight division in the second half of the past decade, in which there were seven titleholders in an eight-title-fight span starting with Chuck Liddell and ending with Jon Jones. But even then, as top heavy as 205 was, it never had the depth of the current UFC lightweights.
So now that the dust has settled, where would we go from here? I’m also leaving Ferguson out of the equation for now, because it sounds like he’s going to be out a minimum of nine months:
*Have Nurmagomedov fight McGregor next. This is of course contingent on McGregor being legally cleared to fight. There’s simply too much money to be made on this, and would help clear up the “undisputed” title picture once and for all.
*I’d have Poirier as Plan B to fight Khabib on the strength of his recent run. Barring that, the Poirier-Alvarez rematch is big enough to headline a card all on it’s own. Or serve as the co-main to Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor and have someone ready to step in if needed.
*Lee’s in a tough spot here. He proved once again that he’s really good. But beating Barboza isn’t quite enough to vault into a title fight, especially when Lee’s coming off a convincing loss to Ferguson and has also had weight issues in both of his past two fights. Lee vs. Iaquinta, whose stock rose in his loss to Khabib, could make an interesting fight.
*Just spit-balling an idea: Gathje vs. Barboza down the road? Both guys are exciting, both need a win, both are going to need a break after going through some brutal battles.
*Hooker vs. Felder not only had that awesome setup, but could be a hell of a scrap.
*If Diaz is sticking to his Conor-or-bust strategy, at this point, he could be waiting a long time.
*Final side note: Michael Chandler’s Bellator contract is up after his next fight. Does anyone really want to see Chandler fight one of the Pitbull brothers for the 2459409834th time? No one would blame Chandler if Bellator offers him more money and he stays, but for legacy, the time might be right to make the jump.
I’m sure I’m missing a few here, but that kind of underscores my point: We’re in the middle of something awesome with the lightweight division, something that all but guarantees on fight night we’ll see something that transcends the muck and mire of MMA in 2018. Let’s appreciate this while it lasts.
Nick Newell, Greg Hardy, and personnel decisions
@SBR_Adrian: Nick Newell can’t get a fight but they will give CM Punk 2 fights and woman-beater Greg Hardy a fight. Has the UFC under the regime lost its luster? Can we assume like the golden days of boxing now the golden days of MMA are behind us?
Wow, there’s a lot to unpack here. First things first: Since you sent this tweet, The UFC did in fact offer Nick Newell a fight on the Contender Series at a TBD date this summer.
I believe Newell to be ready to fight in the UFC now, but I can understand why the UFC is using Contender Series as its vehicle for giving Newell a chance. If Newell has a bad outcome in a high-profile UFC bout, there’s going to be brushback to the idea of allowing a one-handed fighter to compete, fair or not.
If Newell loses at Contender Series, then the UFC can say they gave him a chance and move on. If he wins, and they sign him, they can say he earned his way in and give him a real promotional push from there. And it helps bring more attention to the Contenders Series, which is the best idea UFC has come up with in quite some time.
Then there’s Hardy. If Newell is on Contenders Series for all the right reasons, then Hardy is for the wrong ones.
Hardy is a former NFL All-Pro who has a track record of domestic violence. He’s also, since his football-playing days ended, been arrested for cocaine possession, which doesn’t seem to hint at someone who has straightened his path.
But he’s also won each of his three amateur fights via first-round knockout, and he’s affiliated with an elite gym in the American Top Team. So the UFC has obviously decided that Hardy’s potential upside as a fighter is worth the risk of negative PR.
There was a time when the UFC did it’s best to steer clear of fighters with troubling issues, whether domestic violence issues, ties to hate groups or what have you. But, well, last summer, the extent of MMA’s ties to brutal Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov — who is having gay men rounded up and murdered — came to the forefront. And while there was some heat for awhile, everyone from promoters to media and fans eventually just kind of collectively shrugged and went about business as usual.
It’s not just the UFC, either. Frank Mir’s openly unapologetic about taking money from promoters with similarly repugnant policies, and he’s main-eventing Bellator 198 on Saturday and being treated like a venerated elder statesman by the MMA media in the run-up to the fight.
That’s where we’re at in MMA in 2018 (we haven’t even gotten to the fact that we’re still waiting on the UFC’s “punishment” for the McGregor bus attack). Look, I understand that the fight business has attracted an element that’s ranged from shady to downright criminal going back over a century. I’m not naive enough to think the industry is ever going to be pristine. But if the sport has collectively decided to pretend the Kadyrov thing doesn’t exist and the UFC has decided the rewards of potentially signing someone Hardy outweigh the risks, then, if nothing else, we know exactly what we’re getting into when we choose to continue supporting the sport.
The Punk show
@thelifeofmatt_: What happens to CM Punk if he loses in a similar fashion to his firs fight—a beat down? Does the UFC retain him for some type of media/promotional role and MAYBE give him another fight in the future? Or do they get rid of him altogether?
I was ready for the UFC to cut the cord after the first abomination against Mickey Gall. I’ll give the UFC credit for this much: They’ve found about the only viable scenario for CM Punk’s second fight. His name will help sell tickets in his hometown of Chicago at UFC 225, and in fighting fellow 0-1 competitor Mike Jackson, you’re not exactly clogging things up at the welterweight division by having this fight. Win or lose, I’m ready to be done with the Punk experiment, but losing to Jackson in Punk’s hometown should slam the door once and for all.
Dillon Danis’ debut
@Mobbin2Mars: What do you expect from Dillon Danis on Saturday night?
Well, Bellator found a guy named Kyle Waker to fight Danis at a 175-pound catchweight for Danis’ pro mixed martial arts debut on Saturday night at Bellator 198. Walker has a 2-4 record. It’s very likely that Walker’s only mention in future MMA history books will be that he fought Danis in Danis’ first pro fight.
But then, this is Bellator, which has it’s own unique brand of MMA chaos. You think Chandler is going to have an easy title defense against Brent Primus? Well, watch as he suffers a fluke leg injury, then has someone from commission swipe his stool as he goes to sit. Hype Aaron Pico to the point people consider him the bluest-chip prospect in MMA history? Pico loses his MMA debut in under a minute.
In that prism, it wouldn’t be super surprising if Walker connected with a knockout punch and people coast to coast howled in laughter at another “Bellator Gone Wild” moment.
Nah, though. Very likely Danis takes Walker down, does his thing on the mat, and that’s that. But the slim possibility of things going haywire? That’s half the fun of tuning in to a Bellator tentpole event in the first place.
Next for Shoeface
@noahshuster: What is your opinion about @caradesapatojr? What’s next for Shoeface?
What should be next for Antonio Carlos Junior is a step up in competition and a chance at proving whether he deserves to be name-checked among the top dogs at 185 pounds. Tim Boetsch is basically the all-time guardian at the middleweight gate. If you don’t beat Boetsch, you’re probably someone not worth taking seriously. If you do beat him, you’re in the club. Carlos Junior ran over Boetsch at UFC on FOX 29. That gave him five wins in a row, four of them by submission. That’s not bad for someone who hasn’t gotten much of a push. It’s time to give him one.
Usman vs. Maia
@_yungtony_: After his fight cancellation, who does Kamaru Usman fight next?
Well, since you sent this, news reports surfaced that Kamaru Usman will fight Demian Maia at UFC Chile after Santiago Ponzinibbio had to drop out. And that’s a better matchup for Usman than Ponzinibbio would have been. In Maia, Usman finally has that big name to potentially put on his resume. Maia is looking to prove he’s not washed up after back-to-back bad losses. It’s a classic bit of matchmaking.
It’s also proof that even if you’re one of those fighters, like Usman, who doesn’t have most-favored-nation status from the UFC, if you keep winning enough and make enough noise, eventually things are going to break in your favor, even if only because of the UFC’s relentless grind of having to adjust to fight fallouts on the fly.
The MMA beat
@ArpanLobo: What’s your favorite part of covering MMA? Is it writing features, interacting with fighters, or something else? Really enjoy your work Dave.
Thanks dude. I mean, what could be better than settling in for a 14-fight FS1 card? There’s nothing more enjoyable than hearing the same commercial 80,000 times in a night; the endless banter of hours upon hours of studio talk; checking in on games from other sports that start after the prelims begin and end before the main card starts, and then another one that starts after the main card begins and ends before the main card ends; and then spending a couple more hours chasing down news after all this ends. A real glamorous life, here!
For real, though, there’s a two-part answer to this. Part one is, I’m a writer. I do news because it’s part of the job, but doing things like staying up until dawn at a pub in Dublin when McGregor fought Diaz, or doing an in-depth profile on a figure like Audie Attar, is something I really enjoy.
The other half of the equation is, I mean, in 12 years doing this, I’ve been to 40 states, five Canadian provinces, and been to Mexico City for the first time, all on someone else’s dime. There’s still nothing that matches the electricity of being down at cageside for a big fight, close enough both to feel the energy of the crowd and the impact of the blows in the cage. Which is why I try not to complain too much about the less-glamorous aspects of the gig — like the interminable FS1 cards which make you want to stab your eyes out with a pen — because I know a lot of people would trade spots with me in a heartbeat.
This article first appeared at MMA Fighting – All Posts
