UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal couldn't believe Stephen Thompson signed on dotted line

[welcometohavoc]

Masvidal is tailormade for Thompson

He's just going to stay at range and pick him apart. Jorge is going to let another fight slip away

 

[rjmbrd]

If it was just one fight, fair enough, but he didn't get the win (and frankly, was lucky to even get a draw and a rematch), so he really should have stepped up in the second fight. He put on an even more tentative fight in the rematch.

It might have only been two boring fights, but that was 50 minutes of almost complete inactivity. His win against Rory before that was only mildly entertaining because of Rory engaging in the last two rounds. He's looked spectacular in past fihgts, sure, but 50 minutes is 50 minutes. A lot of guys on the roster will never even see that much time in the octagon in their careers, and he put the fans through two co-main/main event PPVs to give us that 50 minutes.

He deserves the flack. Let's hope he redeems himself.

Wonderboy has an incredibly exciting style.

What you are experiencing is the 'winner-take-all' payment scheme that exists in the UFC. You quite literally only get paid half if you lose, and when the title is on the line, we are talking feast or famine. Having the belt means equity and an actual payoff for what you've sacrificed physically.

Fighters have no advocacy and even career-long company men like GSP and Rory were kicked on their way out the door. You will absolutely get treated like a disposable commodity.

I can't hold it against Wonderboy, or anyone else, when they play it safe in a title eliminator or title fight. Its the only way they can get a chance at fair pay.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

No active WW is a big draw.

Ths WW Champ isn't a big draw.

 

[laleggenda27]

Masvidal was a giant LW and was definitely killing himself to make weight.

He had absolutely no problem fighting Mutante, Larkin and Maia, all former middleweights.

Wonderboy has a big frame for welterweight, and he's got great range, but he isn't up there in regards to physicality. Matt Brown straight up prison mauled him by being more physical. Woodley obviously was far stronger and more physical in grappling exchanges.

Wonderboy presents a lot of problems for guys by being able to hit you with his lead leg with zero notice, and some really dynamic spinning attacks. His hands are competent but nothing to write home about. His kicking game is incredible.

For his part, Masvidal never gets out classed on the feet. He's been striking his entire life, arguably rolls with punches better than anyone in any division and is still very athletic with excellent timing.

If Masvidal loses its going to be his very typical problem - bad fight IQ. Don't get me wrong, he actually has INCREDIBLE fight IQ, he just doesn't always employ it. Sometimes he plays tit-for-tat if you landed something, and we all know he's had a problem with coasting when he's won some rounds.

Not sure why you think Masvida "was a giant LW." The guy is only 5'10 with very little muscle mass. I'd say he's a good sized LW, but certainly not the biggest guy in the division.

Yes, he did well against Mutante, Larkin, and Maia. But the Mutante and Larkin fights shouldn't be surprising; those guys aren't elite, so it was foreseeable that Masvidal would do well against them (highly ranked fighters almost always do well when they move up in weight and fight mid- and low-level guys). In fact, Mutante is a bit of a can by UFC standards. And Larkin, while he fought at MW, was never really a MW (plenty of guys fight at higher weights before settling in at their true weight class). As for Maia, that fight was entirely predictable. Maia's striking is subpar, so of course Masvidal would look good in the striking exchanges (despite the size difference); and Maia predictably dominated the grappling exchanges.

To be clear, Masvidal will give anyone at 170 a tough fight. He's skilled both on the feet and on the ground and is always game. But this story has played out plenty of times, and I don't see this being any different: a ranked fighter moves up a division and beats a few mid- and low-level fighters; fans jump the gun and proclaim them to be title contenders; then they fight the better guys in the division and immediately start losing. The upper end of the division is where the size disadvantage makes a difference. The same will likely be true of all these LWs moving up to WW (Masvidal, Cowboy, RDA).

 

[rjmbrd]

Not sure why you think Masvida "was a giant LW." The guy is only 5'10 with very little muscle mass. I'd say he's a good sized LW, but certainly not the biggest guy in the division.

I'm saying it because he's gaunt and miserable on the scale without having excessive muscle mass. Thats my point about his frame. Guys with blown up beach muscles can move down. Lean guys who are bone dry on the scale with sucked in faces? They can go up.

Yes, he did well against Mutante, Larkin, and Maia. But the Mutante and Larkin fights shouldn't be surprising; those guys aren't elite, so it was foreseeable that Masvidal would do well against them (highly ranked fighters almost always do well when they move up in weight and fight mid- and low-level guys).

If you are contending that Larkin is mid-low level we're officially playing a game called 'stupid or liar.'

Magny was ranked #4 when Larkin torched him in the first round. Magny beat Hector Lombard and Gastelum in his two previous fights, and beat Johny Hendricks immediately after. He's got a 10 fight win streak broken with two losses, Maia and Larkin. He also beat Lawler at 185, directly before Robbie's historic title run. Get real.

To be clear, Masvidal will give anyone at 170 a tough fight. He's skilled both on the feet and on the ground and is always game. But this story has played out plenty of times, and I don't see this being any different: a ranked fighter moves up a division and beats a few mid- and low-level fighters; fans jump the gun and proclaim them to be title contenders; then they fight the better guys in the division and immediately start losing. The upper end of the division is where the size disadvantage makes a difference. The same will likely be true of all these LWs moving up to WW (Masvidal, Cowboy, RDA).

He already fought the #1 guy in the division in Demian Maia, and walked off with a razor thin split decision loss. So you're theory is already a failure if all three judges can't even agree he's not the second best guy in the division, literally right now.

 

[KORMAN]

Holy crap, these 2 are fighting? About the best fight you could possibly make at WW right now, and I seriously can't wait for this one. I think Thompson barely edges him out, but wouldn't be surprised at all if Jorge wins this. I think Thompson's movement, and hand speed will give him problems all night, and Jorge's kicks won't come into play against Wonderboy.

I really like Jorge, and not a big Wonderboy fan, but this is a bad match up for Jorge, since he's mainly uses a boxing attack. And his wrestling won't be a factor, at all. I wish Jorge would win, so Woodley would have a fresh new contender to fight. Don't get why the UFC would give him Wonderboy, since he could easily lose this fight, and there aren't any contenders for Woodley to fight anyways. He's not getting the GSP fight anytime soon, so......

 

[Kenny Powerth]

I wonder if he'll be surprised when doctors are standing over him with flashlights in his face. Cocky asshole.

 

[wake_me]

No offense to Jorge, but nobody is going to duck Masvidal.
Which is what he's implying.

I disagree. Imo Jorge's name value doesn't match his skills. I dont think people would him out of fear. New so risk vs reward

 

[Adamant]

Wonderboy should smash

 

[Davey Crockett]

Jorge's trash talk is weak he should know by now most fighters are only afraid of not succeeding they are not scared of another fighter in that sense especially Thompson.
Plus the money is a big issue and Jorge still is not a PPV mega star by no means, he needs to really look into why people do not accept fights before talking nonsense.
Why would a fighter go through 3 months of hell training to get paid pennies that is stupid. I like Jorge but he is talking out of his ass about people ducking him because they are afraid,
They do because he is still not that popular with the casual fans.

I agree that fighters are most afraid of failure but the chance of that happening depends on the opposition, or more how that person views the opposition.

 

[CPH]

Weird, I was just in the other Masvidal thread, thinking about how good Madvidal's boxing is and I thought exactly the same as what Jorge claimed in that clip: that he would do better than Conor vs Mayweather.

Masvidal moves better than Conor, actually has a lead hand and some proper defense. The one thing Conor has is power, but that won't be worth much against a guy as slick as Floyd. And 4 rounds in, that power will be gone, and Conor will be a slow-ass punching bag.

 

[laleggenda27]

I'm saying it because he's gaunt and miserable on the scale without having excessive muscle mass. Thats my point about his frame. Guys with blown up beach muscles can move down. Lean guys who are bone dry on the scale with sucked in faces? They can go up.




If you are contending that Larkin is mid-low level we're officially playing a game called 'stupid or liar.'

Magny was ranked #4 when Larkin torched him in the first round. Magny beat Hector Lombard and Gastelum in his two previous fights, and beat Johny Hendricks immediately after. He's got a 10 fight win streak broken with two losses, Maia and Larkin. He also beat Lawler at 185, directly before Robbie's historic title run. Get real.





He already fought the #1 guy in the division in Demian Maia, and walked off with a razor thin split decision loss. So you're theory is already a failure if all three judges can't even agree he's not the second best guy in the division, literally right now.

Are you actually arguing that Larkin is elite? There's no rational argument for Larkin being anything more than a mid-level fighter. The guy went 5-5 in his 10 UFC fights and then lost his first fight in Bellator. Larkin is a solid fighter, so no disrespect to him. But he's the very definition of mid-level.

The Maia fight doesn't actually support your argument. Like I said, guys who move up in weight generally do well against mid- and low-level fighters, then lose to the top fighters. That's exactly what Masvidal has done. And after the Wonderboy fight, he'll likely be have back-to-back losses to top WWs. Not necessarily because they're better fighters, but because he's too small to consistently beat the top WWs.