Is Tony's recent skid due to him being a shell of himself or his comp just being bad matchups??

[legkicktko]

There's better results in boxing at that age and older in the lower weight classes. There's also current world champions around that age and older and record for the oldest age winning world champion title at the lower weight classes. It's really not that old, Mayweather and PAC was beating younger champions into their 40s and they are in the lower weight classes. PAC just fought to a decision loss to the current world champion at age 42. That's mostly due to him spending more time in politics and only training boxing a few months before the fight only. So Tony's and Nick's age isn't really that old. Nick was partying and drinking for the last decade so that has more to do with his decline than his age. Mayweather and PAC live clean so they prolonged their careers and athletic ability. Plus they still train just as hard as they did when they were younger. Just training smarter with more recovery time.

Bernard Hopkins showed age isn't an issue if you fight smart, train smart, and live clean and healthy.

Boxing doesn't have the same wear and tear on the body. Tony has gotten his ligaments destroyed in two straight fights which would have never happened in boxing. Not to mention what happens over a lifetime of grappling.

Hence the average age for UFC LW's, FW's, and BW's is so low.

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

Both. These guys were always bad match ups but now they're bad match ups and he's old

 

[FIghtxIQ]

Boxing doesn't have the same wear and tear on the body. Tony has gotten his ligaments destroyed in two straight fights which would have never happened in boxing. Not to mention what happens over a lifetime of grappling.

Hence the average age for UFC LW's, FW's, and BW's is so low.

That happened after Gaethje fight where he was passive and trying to avoid damage. But yes torn ligaments does require more healing/recovery time. But the point of my post isn't so much on age alone, because lots of examples of older fighters in even lighter weight classes having success, and still having success. I think it's more life style that makes the difference and the ones that live clean tend to be able to fight in the later years where most would need to retire. Also I think if may boil down to their training and motivation, some might just be going through the motions in the later years and fighting for paychecks. Donaire just won a world title in boxing at age 38 in a lighter weight class. PAC and Mayweather were still winning belts and beating young champions in their mid 30's - 40's. So I don't look at Tony and Nick as that old because I've seen older fighters in boxing have success in the lighter weight classes.

 

[welcometohavoc]

It's interesting because Tony has always had two glaring flaws in his game,
1 being his striking (mainly boxing) defense and
2 his TDD

That said, could it be that his recent opponents he's lost to (Justin, Charles, Dariush) are just guys who excel at those things (Justin with his hands, landed anything and everything on Tony and Charles ,Dariush took him down at will and dominated) were able to expose his weaknesses or is it truly a story of Tony just being washed/a shell of his former self??

Anyone who watched his fight with Dariush should be able to tell he was like a ghost on meth. He looked like a dementia patient in terminal condition

 

[laleggenda27]

Time caught up with him; it happens to everyone. The guy won 12 fights in a row, 9 of them by finish. It's not a coincidence that he was in his upper 30s when he finally started losing. It's also not a coincidence that Tony is the oldest LW ranked in the top 15.

If anything, it's surprising that it didn't happen sooner.

 

[Luckyme]

I think Tony peaked around the time of the RDA and Kevin Lee fights which was in 2017. His decline started before the Gaethje fight. He wasn't the same after he returned from knee surgery and had problems against Anthony Pettis.

To answer TS's, question it was a combination of injuries, fight miles, and age that caught up to Tony. It's a shame the Khabib fight didn't happen 4 years ago. He would have still lost but at least it would have been competitive.

 

[Local Plata]

Years of dumb training habits and getting old.

 

[Royce's Gi]

Will we ever see Tony anklepick Werdum?

 

[SokoudjouFanboy]

The first one

 

[Odoylerules4lyf]

There's better results in boxing at that age and older in the lower weight classes. There's also current world champions around that age and older and record for the oldest age winning world champion title at the lower weight classes. It's really not that old, Mayweather and PAC was beating younger champions into their 40s and they are in the lower weight classes. PAC just fought to a decision loss to the current world champion at age 42. That's mostly due to him spending more time in politics and only training boxing a few months before the fight only. So Tony's and Nick's age isn't really that old. Nick was partying and drinking for the last decade so that has more to do with his decline than his age. Mayweather and PAC live clean so they prolonged their careers and athletic ability. Plus they still train just as hard as they did when they were younger. Just training smarter with more recovery time.

Bernard Hopkins showed age isn't an issue if you fight smart, train smart, and live clean and healthy.

I think everybody can agree that Tony did not spend his career fighting or training smart... And I don't know what his lifestyle habits are like besides his mental health issues. So yeah, it definitely is possible to stay competitive at a later age but Tony sure isn't that guy.

 

[MeatWagon06]

Combination, he fell off a cliff and right into a string of tough matchups.

Tbh I think the UFC were matching him favorably after the knee injury (Cerrone and Pettis) hoping to keep his streak alive so they could make the Khabib fight, but once that fell through again they were forced to move the division forward. Which just revealed how far he had really fallen from his prime.

Move the division? Tony did a solid and stepped up to fight Gaethje short notice since Khabob got stuck in Russia. He could’ve waited it out for the fight to get cancelled again.

Then matched up with 2 of the top grapplers at LW. He actually looked to be in good shape against Beneil, besides getting grapplefucked. I’m not writing him off as done yet.. wanna see how he’d fair against someone that’ll stand with him.. like Hooker or McConRat.

 

[r-harper-1]

He’s aging rapidly imo

 

[rjmbrd]

He’s aging rapidly imo

In Khabib's own words "Tony cannot be elite at that age, I couldn't either."

You see old farts getting shuffled around in the upper weight divisions because they lack depth. Elite athletes the size of 185+ will not choose MMA as their first option. The roster depth is deepest at 155lbs.

It should be common sense someone nearing 40 years old at 155lbs is in the twilight of their career.

 

[WhitestKidU’Know]

I think Tony's time is done, sadly...

 

[dittohead84]

It's due to him making a very silly mistake by weakening himself before the Gaethje fight with the 2 weight cuts close together. Surgeon of his own demise

 

[Dorkman]

His age combined with his take a hit to give a hit willingness just appeared to finally have caught up with him. He dosen't absorb shots quite the same, and he's not quite as quick anymore.

 

[Azor]

If I had to narrow it down, I would say aging and that fucking leg injury where he tripped over a cord. Of all the rotten luck he's had, that had to be the worst.

 

[The Bloody Nine]

Justin beat him to a shuddering pulp and he'll never be the same again. A lot of us said this at the time.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

He has a losing record since going back on his meds.

 

[markg171]

C) He was always overrated