News Alexandre Pantoja to defend Flyweight title against Steve Erceg at UFC 301

[theincognito]

I'm all for it. Mokaev looked like freaking trash on the same card, while this Steve guy got a KO. You shouldn't get a title shot when all you did in your last fight was shoot and get stuffed all fight.

 

[pātrēärkē]

Promising fighter, but uhh, who has he beat?

 

[Conan the K-9]

I'm all for it. Mokaev looked like freaking trash on the same card, while this Steve guy got a KO. You shouldn't get a title shot when all you did in your last fight was shoot and get stuffed all fight.

100% agree with this, but more so I think, they want to try to protect Mokaevs hype. If he would now fight for the belt, he would lose in spectacular fashion and all that would be gone.

 

[Icanseeu]

You know I watch all UFC events all MALE fights and don't know who this guy is. Granted I'm behind as I live in Thailand so I'm rarely up when events are live so I torrent them instead so I'm pretty far behind I just finished UFC 289 but still.

 

[theincognito]

100% agree with this, but more so I think, they want to try to protect Mokaevs hype. If he would now fight for the belt, he would lose in spectacular fashion and all that would be gone.

I don't see Mokaev having that kind of hype. He'll never be a star. If anyone has hype that they want to protect it's that Japanese kid.

If anything they probably chose Steve because they need a new Aussie champion.

 

[Conan the K-9]

I don't see Mokaev having that kind of hype. He'll never be a star. If anyone has hype that they want to protect it's that Japanese kid.

If anything they probably chose Steve because they need a new Aussie champion.

Could be also that Dana was just not impressed with his performance. Like many of us fans, Dana hates, boring hugging and rule bending, like Evloev and Mokaev have lately done.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

This is the one I'm contesting.

Because Mokaev won. That's all that should matter, imo. The rankings shouldn't only matter when it's convenient.

Because the precedent is the problem. Why have rankings at all if we are going to subjectively ignore them?

If we book this, there is legit no reason to ever give Belal or Merab a title shot. Because they aren't entertaining, despite winning.

Now, some people will look at that as a feature, not a bug, but I'll be over here high horsin' and thumpin' the good rulebook of the UFC

Did you watch Mokaevs last fight? He squeaked by by shooting for low single ankles against. Guy that hasn't won a fight since before Mokaev turned pro, Pantoja would eat him alive.
Everyone knows all that does right now is give Pantoja an easy defense and derails Mokaev who seems to have a team crafting his career since he was 14.

 

[LoneLynx]

F it

I’ll allow it

 

[Soggust]

Did you watch Mokaevs last fight? He squeaked by by shooting for low single ankles against. Guy that hasn't won a fight since before Mokaev turned pro, Pantoja would eat him alive.
Everyone knows all that does right now is give Pantoja an easy defense and derails Mokaev who seems to have a team crafting his career since he was 14.

So the concern is that Mokaev wouldn't be competitive? And would be an easy defense for the champ?

And the solution is to field a guy with 3 UFC fights?

 

[Mickey Mick]

Mokaev's lucky if he's getting it in October.

He should spend 7 months in dagestan with team khabib. Improve his striking and clinch work and grappling.

Yes Mokaev needs A LOT of work. His takedowns are garbage, telegraphed, and he looks terrified to strike.

But i doubt Khabib would take him in. Mokaev famously denied signing with Ali, who’s tight with Khabib.

It was a whole thing where Ali was actively rooting for Cody Durden to beat Mok on social media.

 

[Wetarmpits]

This is like Leon Edwards defending his title against my step dad.

Right?! Never heard about that guy.

 

[KAZSoliloquy]

one of the more egregious reaches for a title fight in ufc history. it's not a joe soto situation where bro hopped in last minute. this is the fight they're scheduling lol erceg has skills so hopefully he makes it interesting but wow

 

[xhaydenx]

I don't think you are wrong at all, but I think you should be wrong haha.

Like, is there any "sport" outside of combat sports where we forego tangible results in exchange for sales?

For example, if Tiger misses the cut in golf but we just want more eyeballs on the Tour, could we just kick out some other boring golfer, subtract a couple strokes and sneak him in?

Or as I suggested in the original take, why not just throw Paddy in a title shot against Islam in Liverpool if he manages to get a nice KO next fight against some fringe top 15er and has enough hype?

The idea that popularity should drive results in a "sport" is weird to me. If we acknowledge it's "sports entertainment" more like the WWE, I'd be more accepting, but that's not how the UFC brands itself by having rankings in the first place, pretending to be a legitimate competitive league.

I'm definitely right, but like you, I also think I should be wrong lol.

Other sports are different in that they have leagues and points. You have to abide by that or the system doesn't make work at all. MMA has none of that. And even when they do have points, it's still not completely rigid. Burgos in PFL didn't qualify for the tourney, but they put him in because two other fighters had a boring fight even though one of them had more points than Burgos.

As for your Paddy idea, this goes back again to demographics. Who does UFC have for England right now? Aspinall, Paddy, and Leon. No one cares about Leon. Aspinall is right up there at the top but he's not a proper champion yet. The UFC aren't going to risk hurting Paddy's drawing power by throwing him in there against Islam lol. They're not even going to risk it by throwing him in there against someone elite for a while yet. It makes no sense for them as a business because they know Paddy wouldn't stand a chance.

That's just the way it is, unfortunately.

 

[Poirierfan]

Why? Moakev fought on the same card and is higher ranked

I agree, but Moakev hasn't looked good at all. Boring AF infact.

 

[Poirierfan]

Respectfully this is doo doo match making.

Well, the UFC is infact doo doo themselves these days, so it makes sense.

 

[Poirierfan]

You know I watch all UFC events all MALE fights and don't know who this guy is. Granted I'm behind as I live in Thailand so I'm rarely up when events are live so I torrent them instead so I'm pretty far behind I just finished UFC 289 but still.

I didn't know who he was until 2 fights ago, excellent striker but not all that great on the ground I don't believe. Very undeserving of a title shot.

 

[Mickey Mick]

I agree, but Moakev hasn't looked good at all. Boring AF infact.

Someone here said Mokaev only averages like 5 strikes and one successful takedown per round or fight, I forget which, either way that’s really bad.

People think cus he’s a Dagi that he’s a stud wrestler, but he learned to wrestle in the UK, not Dagestan, where wrestling is not as nearly prominent.

I don’t know why I’m being so hard on the guy: I even needed him to win against Perez for a parlay, but the way Mokaev fought disgusted me so much I literally was rooting against him by the end, even if it meant me losing potential money!

 

[Poirierfan]

Someone here said Mokaev only averages like 5 strikes and one successful takedown per round or fight, I forget which, either way that’s really bad.

People think cus he’s a Dagi that he’s a stud wrestler, but he learned to wrestle in the UK, not Dagestan, where wrestling is not as nearly prominent.

I don’t know why I’m being so hard on the guy: I even needed him to win against Perez for a parlay, but the way Mokaev fought disgusted me so much I literally was rooting against him by the end, even if it meant me losing potential money!

Lol, I started rooting against him after his second fight in the UFC. Terrible fighter to have to watch.

I didn't know that he learned to wrestle in the UK, makes sense (hug hug hug). Imo he's the worst undeated fighter that's a top guy in the UFC. He just scrapes by again and again.

 

[Mickey Mick]

Erceg is seemingly exciting in the ring but good lord did anyone see his interview with Luke Thomas yesterday?

It was excruciatingly boring, the kid has no rizz, as the youngsters say nowadays.

He would be such a pain to promote if he wins the title. And that’s all despite being an Aussie.

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

So the concern is that Mokaev wouldn't be competitive? And would be an easy defense for the champ?

And the solution is to field a guy with 3 UFC fights?

The concern is that Mokaev is a young prospect they are building that isn't ready for a title shot, simple as. While Steve is a literal who that has someone looking out for him that realizes he's closer to being on his way out than Mokaev and might as well get a title shot off of two KOs they can market.

In any way, it is almost a guarantee that Mokaev's team got the call and declined the fight most likely. Steve wasn't the first call, that's for sure.

Poatan won a title after three UFC fights, number of fights doesn't really matter. In their current forms, I believe Erceg has a better chance at upsetting Pantoja than Mokaev. That isn't saying much as I'm pretty sure he 50-45s both, but Mokaev gets utterly embarrassed.
He really is not that good yet, let alone ready for a title. The ranking is marketing material and should be treated as such.