Will Ngannou ever be HW GOAT since he lost to prime Stipe?

Can’t stipe fight the rubber match first and then we can talk?
 
Can’t stipe fight the rubber match first and then we can talk?

Word.

They give DC so many "rubber matches" ... Conor too ... neither of whom has the resume or accolades of Stipe.

IMO, Stipe is the one deserving of the immediate rematch with Ngannou, after which the latter will live or die in infamy.
 
Word.

They give DC so many "rubber matches" ... Conor too ... neither of whom has the resume or accolades of Stipe.

IMO, Stipe is the one deserving of the immediate rematch with Ngannou, after which the latter will live or die in infamy.
How many rubber matches has DC had?
 
We can objectively say prime Stipe was better than Ngannou
But Ngannou is much better now, so Stipe has one victory over a dangerous but still very green and inexperienced Ngannou. And Francis just iced at least a near-prime Stipe, so as it stands today, I think Francis owns the better victory of the two.
 
In the UFC, already surpassed Stipe. First win for Stipe don't count. In MMA? He doesn't have the level of competition to ever touch Fedor, Big Nog or Doom. His only prime wins are Blaydes and Stipe. And Stipe is iffy since he never even beat Blaydes or Volkov or Black Beast or anyone besides an old Doom and Green Ngannou.
 
I think you could probably argue that Ngannou was a bit off of his peak in the first fight and Stipe a bit off of his in the second.

If you asked me who I would pick peak vs peak though it would be Francis, I think Stipe really exploited some tactical and technical holes in the first fight and I don't think being a bit faster/stronger would balance out Ngannou closing those holes in the rematch.
 
But Ngannou is much better now, so Stipe has one victory over a dangerous but still very green and inexperienced Ngannou. And Francis just iced at least a near-prime Stipe, so as it stands today, I think Francis owns the better victory of the two.
How? Stipe is 38 years old. He's near the end of his career with retirement being discussed since his rematch against Cormier. He's the same age as Cain Velasquez and almost two years older than Dos Santos. I would not be surprised if the Stipe we just saw get knocked out and outgrappled by the Ngannou we saw in the first fight.

Also, those two fights were both dominant wins in their own way. Stipe outstriked and completely dominated every single round of that fight. The second one, Stipe got knocked the fuck out after doing almost nothing before it. I'd say they are equal.
 
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