People got upset over Makhachev getting the title shot in the UFC but I was not upset at all as I’d seen his great performances and did not blame him for Dariush getting injured. His 10-0 run was no joke and I’d been rooting for him and Oliveira to get bigger fights for a few years so I was happy the Oliveira vs Makhachev title fight was happening.
Now over in Bellator they have fast tracked 14-0 Usman to a LW title shot vs Patricky while Usman’s biggest win in his 14-0 career is over Chris Gonzalez in his last fight and Gonzalez happens to be only the 119th ranked LW in the world and the 26th ranked LW in Bellator.
The last title shot was given to 82nd ranked in the world and 16th ranked Bellator LW Peter Queally after he won via doctor stoppage vs Patricky so they had a rematch for the belt the Patricio dropped.
At any rate, regardless of who wins the Patricky vs Usman title fight, I think we will be seeing both competing vs most of the top 10 LWs in the GP next year anyway so it does not matter all that much Usman got the title shot without a big win. Queally had actually got that first fight with Patricky even while being 2-2-1 in his last five and he was only 1-1 in Bellator.
Its just interesting seeing Queally and Usman fast tracked to this big fights before they fight anyone in Bellator’s top 15 due to their Conor and Khabib connection. Again I expect Usman to win the title but his big fights will happen in the GP but he clearly did not have to win them to get the title shot like a lot of fighters.
I would imagine AJ McKee will get a GP spot even if he loses to Roberto de Souza on NYE. Win or lose vs McKee, I don’t expect de Souza to come over for the GP but who knows.
Sometimes you just look at a fighter and can tell they’re special. Regardless of who he’s beat. You just see how good they are while beating who they beat
I wasn’t around yet but I’m sure this forum was HEATED when Brock Lesnar got a title shot at 3-1 but guess what… he won lol
I thought the same about Zabit. When he was active he could have easily outclassed Max. Cardio would not have been an issue. Some think Zabit had cardio issues but he only showed weak cardio in one fight (Katar) where he was recovering from aids.
Bellator LW division is actually really deep right now. Thats why the LW GP they do next year will likely be the highlight of the year for the promotion. Coker signed the RIZIN GP champ, the ROAD GP champ and some highly ranked fighters like Mamedov, Shabliy, Rabadanov, Outlaw and Bak. McKee, the Bellator FW GP champ has moved up to LW as well. There is a chance the RIZIN LW champ will come over for the GP after the NYE fight. Plus they have former UFC champ Bendo, former Bellator champ Primus and current LW champ Patricky and who knows… they might sign former UFC/Bellator champ Alvarez for this GP.
Its a deep enough division that longtime vets Emmanuel Sanchez and Georgi Karakhanyan now find themselves outside the top 25 rankings in the promotion when you look at fightmatrix.
Soren Bak beat Paddy Pimblett to win the Cage Warriors LW title but he don’t get the press Pimblett gets.
Bak is 15-1 in MMA and 3-0 in Bellator. Not even sure he is going to get a GP spot next year to be honest. Its an 8-man and he is the 14th ranked Bellator LW at fightmatrix, Usman is ranked 13th.
Lots of UGers were saying how good Makhachev was long before you came here to troll the UG. Years ago people were calling for him to get big fights and even over a year ago wiggum was on record saying he was the #1 LW on the planet at the moment and myself and others were in agreement as to him being the favorite vs anyone. Its weird you troll so much here instead of talking like a normal person but enjoy that I guess.
Trolling is not telling the truth and accurately predicting the fight outcome, which is what I was doing. I even called the round Islam would win.
The anonymous poll results here for the fight were massively in favor of Oliveira. It was the same with Sherdog. Cherrypicking some people like it proves otherwise is disingenuous.
There was a solid group of us since the early Kahbib days that were proclaiming the Dagistani wave is coming. A new breed of MMA wrestlers always pursuing the finish via GnP and submissions. Fresh models of GSP 2.0s coming right from the factory floor.
