Tony vs. Dustin is going to be crazy.

[WarFan90]

I get that Tony wants to get right back to the clear #1 contender, but taking this fight seems crazy to me. Dustin may be a better version of gathje, more crisp boxer with great power at 155. If I'm Tony's manager this is the one fight I'm not taking. Bad style matchup, especially coming off the beating he took from gathje. Tony needs a decisive win against someone in the top ten and hes right back where he was. If he beats Dustin hes once again the clear cut #1 contender, but he could probably get the same result from beating hooker Felder or oliveria with far less risk on my opinion. This is an all in move, win and you get next title shot,(barring gathje winning and taking Conor fight) lose and you drop out of top five and probably never see a real ts. Amazing fight, I want to watch it, but seems way too risky to me at least.

 

[WarFan90]

I get that Tony wants to get right back to the clear #1 contender, but taking this fight seems crazy to me. Dustin may be a better version of gathje, more crisp boxer with great power at 155. If I'm Tony's manager this is the one fight I'm not taking. Bad style matchup, especially coming off the beating he took from gathje. Tony needs a decisive win against someone in the top ten and hes right back where he was. If he beats Dustin hes once again the clear cut #1 contender, but he could probably get the same result from beating hooker Felder or oliveria with far less risk on my opinion. This is an all in move, win and you get next title shot,(barring gathje winning and taking Conor fight) lose and you drop out of top five and probably never see a real ts. Amazing fight, I want to watch it, but seems way too risky to me at least.

 

[fourtyfor44]

I got Dustin. I picked Gaethje too btw. Tony is good but he can be hit by good strikers/boxers

 

[Cranberry2.0]

It's going to be a sloppy brawl with numerous concussions and little defence. I honestly think fights like these are boring and predictable

 

[Koro_11]

Tony is good and exciting but can’t stand the guys personality, looking forward to seeing him get bludgeoned again.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Finally. About time. Been asking for this fight for a while.

 

[cyrusthevyrus]

I get that Tony wants to get right back to the clear #1 contender, but taking this fight seems crazy to me. Dustin may be a better version of gathje, more crisp boxer with great power at 155. If I'm Tony's manager this is the one fight I'm not taking. Bad style matchup, especially coming off the beating he took from gathje. Tony needs a decisive win against someone in the top ten and hes right back where he was. If he beats Dustin hes once again the clear cut #1 contender, but he could probably get the same result from beating hooker Felder or oliveria with far less risk on my opinion. This is an all in move, win and you get next title shot,(barring gathje winning and taking Conor fight) lose and you drop out of top five and probably never see a real ts. Amazing fight, I want to watch it, but seems way too risky to me at least.

yes, it would be an awesome fight. cant wait !

 

[FIGHTING TALK]

If Tony has recovered both mentally and physically from his loss to Gathje then he just poses too many X factors for Dustin.

I respect Dustin a lot, but the notion he is an elite fighter is lost on me.

Tony might have holes left right and centre but he presents questions with pressure and ways to win which Dustin can not answer.

 

[Raffen]

Poirier by UD

 

[WarFan90]

Tony is good and exciting but can’t stand the guys personality, looking forward to seeing him get bludgeoned again.

I think his crazy can be funny, but his personality is quite dickish, that being said hes my all time favorite fighter not because of his personality but despite it. His rant about ninja turtles is an all time great.

 

[Morning Star]

According to everyone here Tony doesn't stand a chance. I think it will be a war. Great matchmaking by the UFC.

 

[PrepareForGlory]

Dustin excels in firefights and brawls. He has no quit in him and is a dog. He beat Gaethje, Alvarez, Holloway, and Hooker at their own game (striking).

He's also at the tail end of his prime and Ferguson is firmly out of his.

Porier has lost and been ko'd but he's never been broken. Ferguson won't KO him, and this will turn into a brawl in a phone booth.

This is a very bad matchup for Ferguson.

 

[Peli]

I'm excited for it.

I think Dustin would be the favorite but if it's the dustin fought dan hooker that shows up, Tony will outlast dustin and win on decision

 

[WarFan90]

If Tony has recovered both mentally and physically from his loss to Gathje then he just poses too many X factors for Dustin.

I respect Dustin a lot, but the notion he is an elite fighter is lost on me.

Tony might have holes left right and centre but he presents questions with pressure and ways to win which Dustin can not answer.

Dustin is a top 10-15 p4p fighter imo. Look at what he did to gathje, holloway, hooker, alvarez, Ferreira etc. His boxing is crisp and powerful at 155 hes a tough out for anyone.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

If Dustin wins, I just don't know where you go from there. Dustin beating Hooker & Ferg probably wouldn't be enough to put him back with Khabib. The UFC would have to rely on GSP as the next fight, but what if that fails through? Or if it happens, then the LW title will go vacant no matter who wins. Dustin would find himself in prime position to challenge for it, but against who?

 

[Drugstore Cowboy]

If Dustin wins, I just don't know where you go from there. Dustin beating Hooker & Ferg probably wouldn't be enough to put him back with Khabib. The UFC would have to rely on GSP as the next fight, but what if that fails through? Or if it happens, then the LW title will go vacant no matter who wins. Dustin would find himself in prime position to challenge for it, but against who?

Another reason to root for Gaethje in October.

 

[WarFan90]

If Dustin wins, I just don't know where you go from there. Dustin beating Hooker & Ferg probably wouldn't be enough to put him back with Khabib. The UFC would have to rely on GSP as the next fight, but what if that fails through? Or if it happens, then the LW title will go vacant no matter who wins. Dustin would find himself in prime position to challenge for it, but against who?

That would create an odd logjam at 155 yet again. Unless gsp(who I cant possibly imagine can make 155 at this point so even if hes willing would probably have to be at 165 minimum catchweight, that might be just the forced hand that the ufc needs to shake up the idea of weight class changes and if that's the case I don't hate it) than we are in limbo there once again, which opens the door for Conor vs khabib 2 which the ufc might prefer. If tony beats dustin, and khabib beats gathje, you have the fight we have wanted for almost a decade. If tony loses and khabib wins you have the catch weight fight vs gsp. If Tony wins and khabib loses, it's probably gathje vs Conor because gathje just smoked Tony. If Tony and gathje lose you have gathje vs Conor. I don't think the UFC wants Tony to get the title ever, so they are giving him the hardest possible fight.

 

[Do better]

I get that Tony wants to get right back to the clear #1 contender, but taking this fight seems crazy to me. Dustin may be a better version of gathje, more crisp boxer with great power at 155. If I'm Tony's manager this is the one fight I'm not taking. Bad style matchup, especially coming off the beating he took from gathje. Tony needs a decisive win against someone in the top ten and hes right back where he was. If he beats Dustin hes once again the clear cut #1 contender, but he could probably get the same result from beating hooker Felder or oliveria with far less risk on my opinion. This is an all in move, win and you get next title shot,(barring gathje winning and taking Conor fight) lose and you drop out of top five and probably never see a real ts. Amazing fight, I want to watch it, but seems way too risky to me at least.

Dustin's true colours will be on display when he quits, again

 

[MCS]

Dustin looked more patient and mature against Hooker. He knew what was coming and acknowledged it during the fight. Knows when to take breaks and when to turn it up. Before he just went for the kill with the volume constantly.

Tony still hasn't mastered pacing himself or making adjustments. It's still all chaos with him. Usually his output is too much for his opponent, but when it wasn't against Gaethje he kept doing the same until he couldn't go anymore. And he's 36. The durability will start to go soon.

I'd still give Tony the durability and cardio, which are key in volume vs volume fights (and which is also why Nate would be a tough fight for Tony). But Dustin is improving, while Tony is not. Makes this a great fight. When just a few years ago (or even a year ago) Tony would've been a heavy favorite.

 

[Koro_11]

I think his crazy can be funny, but his personality is quite dickish, that being said hes my all time favorite fighter not because of his personality but despite it. His rant about ninja turtles is an all time great.

Oh for sure, Tony is probably the most unintentionally funny guy in the organization. It’s not that I hate him, I just think the guy would be a major douche to be around and while I’m a fan of Tony the fighter I do kind of enjoy seeing him get humbled as well.