It could appear everyone continues to be very inquisitive about the fallout from UFC 279.
I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising, provided that last week was one of the chaotic in MMA history. But I got more questions than ever for this segment, and so, in an effort to reply as many as possible while still keeping this shorter than a Melville novel, we’re going to leap right into things and discuss Khamzat Chimaev, Nate Diaz, what’s next, and even a bit of UFC Vegas 60 talk at the top.
Obviously Khamzat fumbled the bag at #UFC279.. however it doesn’t seem that he’s really fallen out of favor with the Dana/UFC brass. What’s the very best next fight for him? Colby at 70? Paulo at 85? 70 title shot? Something else?
— Shankapotomus (@gottheshanks) September 15, 2022
As Tiger Woods and Nike once said: “Winning takes care of every little thing.” Sure, the UFC would absolutely have preferred for Chimaev to make weight and desiccate old-man Nate Diaz, but there’s a reason they moved things around to make certain he had a fight: He’s the following big thing. Hate all of it you wish, but that dude is the most effective fighters on the earth, and he’s going to be a champion. In order that they’re only going to get so mad.
As for where he goes next, it will probably’t be to a title shot. Off the highest of my head ,I don’t imagine a fighter has ever gotten a title shot after missing weight, especially not so egregiously. As a substitute, the UFC does what it’s done dozens of times before: He gets one other welterweight fight to prove he could make the load, preferably on the identical fight card because the Leon Edwards-Kamaru Usman trilogy bout. He makes weight, clobbers whoever he’s facing, after which fights the winner next summer. Easy game.
Did Khamzat lose any star power by the way in which he handled last weekend (outside dominating his fight)?
— AD (@adubz123) September 15, 2022
Nope. There’s a case to be made that he lost the chance to realize much more star power by beating Nate, but even that seems tenuous. Truth is, he probably gained some star power, though not in ways in which ultimately matter. Chimaev might be more well-known after last weekend’s fiasco, however it won’t make people pay to observe him fight, and that’s ultimately what matters.
A variety of people have argued Chimaev’s heel turn is nice for the brand and can make him a warmer commodity, broadly speaking, but I even have serious doubts. For one thing, we haven’t really seen anyone pull off the “heel turn where people need to hate-watch you” thing in MMA, since it’s really hard to do. One other issue is that mainly any star in the game has been boosted by a serious rival, and based on how he fights, I don’t know when Chimaev will find one among those.
Lastly, and the most important issue by far, is that Chimaev simply isn’t charismatic. Don’t imagine me? Take heed to his interviews. It’s one thing to have a gimmick and do it post-fight when probably the most eyes are on you. But outside of his whole “I’ll kill everyone!” stuff, there ain’t numerous depth to that water. And that’s high quality! A variety of athletes are dull blades, but you can’t turn out to be a superstar on the back of winning fights alone, and that’s going to place a cap on Chimaev’s broader appeal.
Chimaev is clearly a freak athlete and a talent we haven’t seen before. His attitude concerning the weight cut, being a hot head, Looking into the longer term, will any of this go to his head?
Can Chimaevs biggest challenge in his profession be himself? Much like Jon Jones.
— Yves the Hardcore Casual (@CasualYves) September 15, 2022
Yes, but not in the way in which you’re referring to with Jon Jones. Not less than, I hope not.
Based purely on the talent, skill, and physical gifts of Chimaev, I could be flabbergasted if he never won a title. He’s probably the most impressive fighter I’ve ever seen, at the least at this stage of his profession. He has pitched perfect shutouts in five of his six UFC bouts. That’s unheard of!!! Chimaev is thrashing top-level competition the identical way Bo Nickal wrecks random 2-0 fighters on Contender Series. I cannot stress this enough: that shouldn’t be possible. And so when he inevitably fights for the title, I’ll pick him to win it, and I’ll pick him to defend right up until the time he’s beaten. Eventually he’ll lose, because everyone does (except Khabib). Being a dominant fighter over years and years is the toughest thing to do in sports. Eventually, you lose your edge, after which the sport is lost. It happens to everyone, and it’s going to occur to him, too. We’re all our own worst enemy.
As for the Jon Jones comparison, I’ll reserve judgment for now. I can definitely see the parallels, and it wouldn’t totally shock me if Chimaev took an identical profession turn (consider UFC 279 just like the infamous Jones “are you there p****?” comment), but Jones’ struggles have seemed (at the least to me) to talk to some deep-seated issues, while Chimaev mostly just got here off like an ass this past weekend.
With Khamzat completely botching his weight cut, plus arguably missing weight last 12 months against Jingliang, what 170’s are signing as much as fight him knowing he could miss weight, completely wasting their time and fight camp?
— Fight Museum (@TheFightMuseum) September 15, 2022
Well, the road wasn’t exactly across the block to fight this dude in the primary place, but that had nothing to do with him missing weight or pulling out of the fight; it was because people didn’t need to get their asses kicked, and after UFC 279, there’s going to be lots more of that, only under the guise of “he has weight issues.”
Look, I’m not here to excuse Chimaev coming in heavier than a newborn baby, however the speed with which the MMA community has Chicken Little’d this thing is staggering. It’s literally the primary time he’s missed weight! And let’s not forget that Chimaev also made 170 kilos on the nose before, and made the welterweight limit when he fought Rhys McKee on 10 days notice, after fighting at middleweight in his UFC debut. Yes, it was a nasty miss, but s*** happens. Let’s see if this can be a recurring issue before we start demanding he leave the division.
As for who will fight him? Anyone who wants the title, which is to say, everyone. Chimaev goes to win the welterweight belt soon, and until then, the road to the following title shot runs through him. If a 170-pound fighter desires to go for gold, they’ll must fight Chimaev, and many them shall be completely satisfied to achieve this.
How would a Robert Whittaker vs Khamzat Chimaev fight go in your opinion?
— The Combat Guy (@thecombatguy) September 16, 2022
@JedKMeshew what would occur in a fight with Yoel Romero vs Khazmat? I’d like to read your evaluation. I believe Yoel could be Khazmat’s kryptonite!
— Simon Phoenix (@SimonPhx480) September 13, 2022
A variety of people desired to discuss Chimaev at middleweight, but I don’t need to spend an excessive amount of time on that, so I pulled out these two to debate the 2 most interesting fights to me. And for what it’s value, the plain next fight for Chimaev is Colby Covington or, if Colby refuses, the winner of Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady (*cough* Brady! *cough*).
Whittaker might be probably the most interesting fight possible for Chimaev. Bobby Knuckles is an elite, elite defensive wrestler, lightning quick, and just the most effective all-around fighters on the earth. I could be fascinated to see if Chimaev can still ragdoll Whittaker if he gets ahold of him, and if he could even grab him in the primary place. Where I believe Chimaev probably beats Israel Adesanya, Whittaker could definitely hand him an L.
As for Romero, God knows I like the Soldier, but he’s 45 years old and he doesn’t do anything in fights anymore. Yes, he’s the very best athlete within the history of the game, and an Olympic silver medalist. But Romero actually wasn’t the very best defensive MMA wrestler, and again, he doesn’t do anything! Chimaev does an entire lot of stuff, on a regular basis. There’s at all times the world wherein Romero clubs him with one big shot, but when that doesn’t land, Chimaev will outwork the person.
What do you’re thinking that the UFC’s interest is in resigning Nate? Now, and say if he goes and boxes after which wants to come back back.
— Shankapotomus (@gottheshanks) September 15, 2022
High. He’s Nate Diaz. He’s a bonafide star. They’d be silly to not want him back, no matter what happens in boxing. If there’s one thing Diaz has proven, it’s that losses don’t really change the way in which the general public feels about him. Truthfully, looks like they add to his charm. So if the UFC has the change to re-sign him, they may absolutely take it. The problem is whether or not or not Nate will need to achieve this. And I doubt he’ll.
Nate goes to go box Jake Paul next. He’ll make several million dollars. Greater than he ever made within the UFC. Depending how that goes, there’s a possible rematch, or a variety of other fights outside the UFC that may draw his attention (more on this later). Nate is 37 years old. Let’s say he spends the following two years boxing, he’ll be pushing 40. Do you actually think after two years of being on his own, doing his own thing and reaping those financial advantages, he’ll want to come back back to the serfdom of the UFC? Even in the event that they back up the cash truck, I’m not seeing it, because by then, he’ll have his own money trucks. But I suppose you never can know needless to say.
What’s the possibility of Diaz fighting for bkfc
— London init geezer (@Miketyson2007) September 15, 2022
Slim to none. While BKFC has deep pockets and is willing to throw money out, Nate could make more on his own. Perhaps as a one-off, in the event that they wrote him a blank check, but I’m not seeing it. And given the way in which his face cuts, hopefully none of us shall be seeing it either.
Do you’re thinking that McGregor vs Diaz 3 will occur?
— Telvin Kipapa (@telvinkipapa) September 15, 2022
100%. That’s the top game. It at all times has been.
Whatever your thoughts on Conor and Nate are as fighters or people, each of them are excellent businessmen. Nate wanted desperately to go away the UFC because there are more lucrative options for him away from it, and once he’s clear from their yoke, he gets to make all the cash. And Conor sees that too.
Conor’s cope with the UFC is nearly up. He only has one or two fights left with the promotion, and once that’s over, you’re thinking that he doesn’t need to box Jake Paul and make $50 million? You should be outside your mind. Conor goes to return, he’s going to fight out his contract, after which he’s going to go away to box as well. First, he’ll fight Paul, because that’s the most important payday. But once that’s over, it’s trilogy time, baby! And this time, the UFC doesn’t get a cut of the profits. In spite of everything, why have the UFC pay you pennies on the dollar when you possibly can take the lion’s share (personally, I believe Eddie Hearn’s friendship with Dana White may take successful around this time, only a hunch)?
How do you’re thinking that Tony looked against Diaz? Would you prefer to see him at 170 moving forward and in that case, who should he fight, bearing in mind his five-fight skid but OG status?
— Zak Kitzler (@KitzlerZak) September 16, 2022
The way in which the good Ariel Helwani likes his steak: well done.
Tony is fully cooked, man. There’s no other word for it. He’s old, he’s slow, he looks bad, his durability is fading, and even his cardio isn’t the identical. Father Time is a bastard, but you possibly can’t fight him off. He at all times wins in the long run, and he’s handily defeated “El Cucuy.” I do know Tony doesn’t need to hear that, and he doesn’t plan on retiring, and that’s high quality. It’s his job, his life. He can do it so long as he pleases. But I hope he doesn’t plan on winning much, because that will not be going to be happening.
With the state of the F/W division, does Arnold Allen get within the conversation for a shot at Alexander The Great with a convincing win vs Kattar?
— Kneel or Nile? (@nialljclark) September 16, 2022
Because of this Alexander Volkanovski attempting to bump as much as lightweight is lame: featherweight has a bunch of latest contenders rising that Volko hasn’t beaten. Josh Emmett, Yair Rodriguez and the winner of this fight all are viable contenders. Clean out your personal division, or abandon it altogether. That’s my view. Because while the winner of Allen-Kattar (*cough* Allen *cough*) deserves a title shot, no questions asked, they won’t get one. They’ll probably must fight the winner of Rodriguez-Emmett. Which is a fantastic fight, but a extremely s**** circumstance for all 4 men.
Sandhagen fights this weekend. What’s his realistic ceiling? He strikes me as a perennial top 5 contender, but has struggled so far beating the very best of the very best at 35. Do you’re thinking that he can realize a UFC title?
— Shankapotomus (@gottheshanks) September 15, 2022
Probably not, but not not possible. I believe Sandhagen is one among the five best bantamweights on the earth currently, and he has a fun and dangerous style that makes him a difficult fight for numerous guys. The issue is that he’s already lost to a few dudes above him, and so getting a title shot goes to be difficult. He must stack three wins, could be my guess. And while he absolutely can do it, he’s also on the mistaken side of 30, which isn’t where you ought to be for weight classes below 170 kilos.
Should Aspen Ladd move to Featherweight permanently? Or is there one other avenue to follow?
— Scot McCreight (@Scot_McCreight_) September 16, 2022
The UFC doesn’t have a featherweight division – they’ve a featherweight champion and a lie they’re selling to the general public in order that champion can look cooler on promotional posters. There is no such thing as a 145-pound division for her to go to within the UFC. Fortunately, she shouldn’t be with the promotion for for much longer. Given her history of weight struggles, the UFC should part ways along with her, after which Ladd should go to the PFL. She should not have any problem making the lightweight limit, and there she will be able to have interesting fights against Larissa Pacheco, Julia Budd, and Kayla Harrison.
Who’s your favorite mma journo besides yourself?
— love&happiness (@twinpeeks7) September 16, 2022
Truth is, I like many of the those that work in MMA media, and I like everyone that works at MMA Fighting (great website). There is no such thing as a place I’d fairly be within the MMA world than right here, and I sincerely imagine I’m the dumbest, least talented person on this site. It’s what makes MMA Fighting (great website) such a fantastic website. Actually, some might say it’s the very best website (*cough* click the link and vote *cough*).
But despite the unconditional love I even have for everybody I work with, and the marginally more conditional love I even have for numerous other people within the space that I don’t work with, I’ll at all times have the identical answer for this query: Karim Zidan.
There are higher writers on the market than Karim (*cough* Shaheen Al-Shatti, up for journalist of the 12 months, follow the link *cough*), but nobody in MMA media does higher work on a more consistent basis than Karim does covering the dark underbelly of this sport. The things he covers are usually not fun or enjoyable, but they’re incredibly vital, and he’s often the one person doing them. Add in that Karim is largely the explanation I’m where I’m today, and I’m at all times going to Stan him.
But additionally, Petesy Carroll has my heart perpetually.
Thanks for reading and thanks for everybody who sent in Tweets! Do you’ve gotten any burning questions on things at the least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you definately’re in luck, because you possibly can send your Hot Tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I’ll answer them! Doesn’t matter in the event that they’re topical or insane. Send them to me, and I’ll answer those I like probably the most. Let’s have a good time.
