He has a lot of similar strengths as Islam and will fight for the title soon enough. Im still not convinced 155 is the best weight class for him though, slimming down and dropping to 145 wouldve made a lot of sense for him a few years ago
That's very good fight, as long as both have a proper training camp and show up in shape. There aren't any real super fights that can happen at this time and i'll take this over some some connor McGregor or inter division fights
He is clearly very talented. Other HW's don't strike like that.
Ngannou fight was dissapoiniting, but it was close and shows that he belongs at that level.
Jones loss was admittedly embarassing. At the same time most fighters, esp HWs, have at least one performance where they get completely clowned
I give him a chance, but he looked seriously diminished in the most recent Edwards fight. His wrestling wasn't working, his striking got sloppy and all he could do was awkward wall & stall. He reminded of Rashad at the beginning of his decline when he was still overall sound and competitive, but...
I feel the opposite. Stipe's biggest issue is being old and potentially chinny, he doesn't lose by being outgrappled or outpointed. I don't see Jones hurting him with punches, giving stipe a pretty good shot at letting his hands go. If Miocic is a dog, he might be worth throwing a few $$ on.
Vera doesn't deserve it, but he matches well with O'Malley stylistically and has a good chance at winning. He is prone to getting outworked and outpointed, but he doesn't get hurt, slow down, or get outclassed on the feet. He'd be a very live dog
He is pushed by the ufc as some rockstar, but I don't know if he is actually that popular. He's been in the UFC for 6 years, never headlined a PPV, and who know how well he'll sell this weekend. I wouldn't expect people to be rushing to buy this one
He has certain strengths that allow him to box people up in MMA fights - consistently high output, durability, and ability to put combinations together. But he is not an all around good boxer. The only time I remember him genuinely looking like a decent boxer was against MJ.
All things...
They're around the same level. Both of their fights and match ups against common opponents point to that. Sucks that Dustin suffered a brutally KO because this wasn't a make or break fight for either one
Wouldn't call him a flop - he had a tough schedule and could've went on a long streak with more favourable match ups. The new breed narrative about lw division is still largely accurate as these guys are fighting and losing to one another for the most part.
I have a feeling we'll see him again in the cage - for better or worse. Despite the mileage, I bet it's not easy to walk from the sport in your early 30s.
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